(fixes tag on headline, no change to story)
Sept 28 (Reuters) – Japanese teenager Shin Ohashi said he was surprised and honoured that Olympic champion Leon Marchand knew who he was, after the Frenchman described the 17-year-old as a “scary” prospect ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Ohashi, shattered the men’s 200 metres breaststroke world record en route to Asian Games gold in Tokyo last week, clocking 2:04.83 to eclipse the previous mark of 2:05.48 set by China’s Qin Haiyang at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka.
Marchand, who visited the Asian Games pool, said Ohashi’s rapid rise made him a formidable yet exciting challenge as the Frenchman targets a defence of his Olympic title in Los Angeles.
“First of all, I am really happy that he recognises me,” Ohashi told reporters in Nagoya on Monday, when asked about Marchand’s comments.
“Personally, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Marchand so, to be honest, he’s not someone I particularly want to race against.
“I respect him because I know just how strong he is. But if I want to win, he’s someone I know I’ll have to beat.”
Ohashi, who won five medals including two golds at last year’s World Junior Championships, has also claimed five medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, with two titles.
His world record performance came just a week after the teenager recovered from COVID-19.
Looking ahead to Los Angeles 2028, Ohashi said Marchand and Britain’s Filip Nowacki, who beat him at last year’s World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships, were the benchmark competitors in the event.
“Both of them are incredibly strong competitors when it comes to winning races,” he said.
(Reporting by Irene Wang in Nagoya; Writing by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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