On September 25 and 27, Yan Ziyi and Chen Yujie each won gold at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. What makes their achievements remarkable is that both girls competed at their first Asian Games at a very young age. 18-year-old Yan Ziyi broke the Asian Games javelin record, while 17-year-old Chen Yujie broke the women’s 100m sprint record to win gold.
Yan Ziyi won the javelin gold with a throw of 70.46m on her first attempt, breaking the previous Games record of 66.09m. She skipped the remaining five throws, earning the nickname “One-Throw Yan”. In the competition, she faced Japan’s home favourite, Haruka Kitaguchi, who is the Paris Olympic champion. About two weeks before the Asian Games, Yan withdrew from the Diamond League Final due to injury, where Kitaguchi went on to win.
“After that very first throw, I decided to pass the rest, since I felt it would be smart to save some energy since I have quite a lot of international events coming soon.”
During the interview, Yan admitted that expectations of her were high, both from her coach and the Chinese public. Losing the previous final had made her feel that she had let everyone down. This Asian Games title helped relieve her of this pressure.“I’m very happy to raise the flag and hear the national anthem at the Asian Games,” she said. “I didn’t disappoint everyone’s expectations.”
Unlike Yan, who settled the javelin final with just one throw, Chen Yujie’s victory came from a different kind of challenge. The 17-year-old ran 11.06 seconds in the women’s 100m final, beating the previous record by 0.09 seconds and becoming Asia’s youngest 100m champion.
“I’m not afraid of my rivals — worst case, I wait another 4 or 8 years and keep going.”
For Chen, this victory was the best present for her 18th birthday: standing on top of the Asian Games podium. This was not only an achievement for her, but also a confirmation of her resilience and independence before adulthood.
Despite her amazing performance, Chen admitted that she had been battling her nerves before the race.
“The only thought I had was to complete my race safely without making any mistakes, no false start, no false start, no false start.”This 17-year-old girl impressed not only Chinese audiences but also earned recognition from her international rivals. Her Singaporean opponent, Pereira, finished second in 11.21 seconds and praised Chen after the race: “I’m really excited to see what she does. She’s going to keep breaking records.”
However, Chen’s Asian Games journey did not end with her 100m victory. Two days later, she won silver in the women’s 200m with a time of 22.93 seconds. Chen admitted after the final that she had hoped to win another gold, and the result left her with some regret. She described the silver medal as a lesson and hoped to learn from the experience.
Both young athletes demonstrated remarkable potential at such a young age. Their achievements prove that age should not become a barrier to success, motivating many other young athletes, especially girls, to pursue their dreams and confront challenges. However, their achievements also mean greater expectations in the future. As China looks towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, these young athletes will need to maintain their performance and continue improving.
References
1. Goulding, G. (2026, September 25). Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026: Chen Yujie, 17, announces herself as the new sprint star with women’s 100m gold. Olympics.Com; International Olympic Committee. https://www.olympics.com/en/news/asian-games-aichi-nagoya-2026-chen-17-strikes-womens-100m-gold
2. Pathak, M. (2026, May 23). Yan Ziyi lands second-best women’s javelin throw in history to win 2026 Xiamen Diamond League. Olympics.Com; International Olympic Committee. https://www.olympics.com/en/news/yan-ziyi-lands-second-best-throw-in-history-to-win-women-s-javelin-at-2026-xiamen-diamond-league18-Year-Old Yan Ziyi throws her way into a new era - all China Women’s Federation. (2026). Womenofchina.Cn. https://www.womenofchina.cn/womenofchina/people/2609/0260-1.htm