Lee clocks 1:56.58, finishing behind Japan's Nishiono in late surge; third medal of the Games, ninth overall in Asian Games career

Lee Ju-ho of South Korea competes in the men's 200m backstroke final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Friday. Lee won the silver medal. [Yonhap]
Lee Ju-ho of South Korea competes in the men's 200m backstroke final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Friday. Lee won the silver medal. [Yonhap]

Lee Ju-ho, the captain of South Korea's swimming team and the face of Korean backstroke, claimed silver in the men's 200m backstroke at the Asian Games — missing gold by just 0.16 seconds.

Lee finished second with a time of 1:56.58 in the final held Friday at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Japan's Nishiono Kodai took gold in 1:56.42, while veteran Chinese swimmer Xu Jiayu claimed bronze in 1:56.73. The top three were separated by just 0.31 seconds.

Starting from lane five, Lee shadowed leader Xu closely from the outset, passing the 50m mark in 27.30 seconds, the 100m mark in 57.02 and the 150m mark in 1:26.93, holding second place throughout.

The race turned in the final 50 meters. Nishiono, who had been in third through the 150m mark, surged late to overtake both swimmers ahead of him and touch the wall first. Lee dug deep to the finish, edging out Xu by 0.15 seconds to hold on to second.

The silver was Lee's second consecutive in the event, following his runner-up finish at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

It was his third medal at this year's Games. Lee had earlier won bronze in both the men's 100m backstroke and the men's 400m medley relay, bringing his career Asian Games medal total to nine — three silver and six bronze.

Lee holds the Korean record in the event at 1:55.34. Friday's time was 1.24 seconds off that mark.


won@heraldcorp.com