Kayla Sanchez twice broke the national record in the women’s 50-meter backstroke, but her record-setting performance was not enough to secure a medal at the 2026 Asian Games on Monday at the Tokyo Aquatics Center.
Sanchez finished fifth in the final after touching the wall in 28.19 seconds, improving on the national mark she had established earlier in the day.
The Filipino-American swimmer first broke the Philippine record in the heats, clocking 28.24 seconds to qualify fourth for the medal race. That performance erased her previous standard of 28.47 seconds, which she set at last year’s Southeast Asian Games.
China dominated the event, with Letian Wan claiming the gold medal in 27.47 seconds and compatriot Xueer Wang taking silver in 27.66.
South Korea’s Kim Seungwon completed the podium with a 27.72-second effort.
Teia Salvino also reached the final but finished 10th in 29.02 seconds.
Meanwhile, Xiandi Chua placed seventh in the women’s 200-meter individual medley after posting a time of 2:16.02. Chua entered the final in 10th position before moving up the standings over the final three laps.
China’s Zidi Yu set a new Asian record on her way to gold, finishing in 2:06.10. Yiting Yu, the previous Asian record holder, settled for silver in 2:07.99, while Japan’s Mio Narita took bronze in 2:10.40.
Meanwhile, Heather White did not start in the women’s 200-meter freestyle heats, while Logan Noguchi missed out on the men’s 50-meter freestyle final after clocking 23.08 seconds for 23rd place.
The Philippine women’s swimming team — composed of Sanchez, Chua, White, and Teia Salvino — also saw its 4×100-meter freestyle relay campaign end in disappointment after being disqualified in Sunday’s final.
