Kitaguchi Haruka takes silver in women’s javelin as 18-year-old Chinese thrower sets new Games record

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The story

On September 27, in the women’s javelin final at the Asian Games held at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan’s Kitaguchi Haruka threw 62.70m to take silver. Gold went to 18-year-old Yan Ziyi of China, who blew away the field with a Games-record 70.46m on her very first throw. Takemoto Sae took bronze, giving Japan two medals in the event. On 5channel threads, many posters voiced excitement over how far Yan’s mark might go in the future, while others posted comments mocking her build — reactions to the result were decidedly mixed.

On September 27, the women’s javelin final of the athletics competition at the 20th Asian Games (2026/Aichi-Nagoya) was held at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, where Japan’s Kitaguchi Haruka won silver with a throw of 62.70 meters.

Kitaguchi opened with 56.48m on her first attempt, then moved up to second place with a day’s-best 61.89m on her fourth throw. She then produced her best mark of the day on her final attempt.

However, China’s Yan Ziyi had already thrown a Games-record 70.46m on her very first attempt. She passed on her remaining throws, but even Kitaguchi’s best couldn’t reach that distance.

Source: thedigestweb.com / Original article here

What people said

4AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:38
Feels like we keep losing to China and Korea in the finals…
and this is our home Games
99AnonymousSep 27, 2026 23:00
Re: #4
Korea's been getting crushed nonstop too
Korea's weak
19AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:42
She's 18 — good luck ever beating her from here on out
46AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:47
Re: #19
Someone just beat her about two weeks ago
Everyone has an off day, health issues happen
20AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:42
Apparently this Chinese athlete does both javelin and shot put, so she'll probably take gold in shot put too — that's power on a whole different level
36AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:45
Re: #20
China's always been strong in shot put
Feels like they win it at the Olympics too
31AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:44
Kitaguchi's personal best is 68m
At this point Japan can't win unless the Chinese girl gets hurt
40AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:46
Re: #31
I mean, nobody's beating her at all
41AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:46
This season's men's best is only 73m, so a woman clearing 70m is seriously insane
62AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:51
Re: #41
Wait, really?
So if she entered the men's competition, she might actually have a shot at winning depending on the day?
115AnonymousSep 27, 2026 23:03
Re: #41
The women's javelin is 0.6kg
The men's is 150kg
54AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:49
That's just overwhelming
Is this actually men's-record territory?
60AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:50
Re: #54
No way, come on
78AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:54
Re: #54
Also, the men's and women's javelins are different lengths and weights to begin with
56AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:49
Wait, the Japanese men's javelin record is STILL held by Kazuhiro Mizoguchi?
98AnonymousSep 27, 2026 23:00
Re: #56
There just aren't many athletes who can handle training loads heavy enough to make even Murofushi (the legendary hammer thrower) recoil.
65AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:51
Good thing for Kitaguchi they're not the same generation
She panicked and switched coaches to Jan Železný, but this girl's not even on that level
She'll probably hit around 77m eventually
80AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:56
Re: #65
Anyone who ends up in her generation is doomed lol
Nobody's beating her
70AnonymousSep 27, 2026 22:52
Yan Ziyi's throw is flawless — the angle and speed at the moment of release are razor sharp
102AnonymousSep 27, 2026 23:01
Re: #70
She throws the javelin like she's doing a long toss in baseball, nobody's beating that.
113AnonymousSep 27, 2026 23:03
Re: #70
Having that build AND that much run-up speed — all you can say is it's amazing
101AnonymousSep 27, 2026 23:00
Are a lot of people suspicious about the taping she's wearing?
108AnonymousSep 27, 2026 23:02
Re: #101
Probably just protein (a joking dig implying doping suspicions).
109AnonymousSep 27, 2026 23:02
If someone like this shows up, nobody's going to win for a long, long time
116AnonymousSep 27, 2026 23:03
Re: #109
Feels like the same situation as when Murofushi showed up and took over domestic hammer throw.
120AnonymousSep 27, 2026 23:04
70.46m at age 18
The world record is 72.28m
She could get there as early as next year
122AnonymousSep 27, 2026 23:05
Re: #120
Pretty sure her personal best was already 71m.
125AnonymousSep 27, 2026 23:06
Re: #120
Apparently she already threw something like 71m back in May
131AnonymousSep 27, 2026 23:07
Sounds like she's the greatest talent in the history of women's javelin
It's basically a done deal she'll smash the world record too
China's got a high rate of producing monsters like this
141AnonymousSep 27, 2026 23:10
Re: #131
This girl is seriously a monster
That Thai sprinter, Boon or whatever her name is, is a monster too

Background and talking points on this story

Kitaguchi Haruka is one of Japan’s leading javelin throwers, with a personal best in the 68m range. China’s Yan Ziyi, who took gold this time, is only 18, and she set a Games record of 70.46m on her very first throw, putting the result out of reach for the rest of the field from the start. On the thread, many posters expressed amazement that the mark is nearing world-record territory, along with hopes she’ll throw even farther in the years ahead, while other posts mocking her build or gender also appeared, giving the discussion a mixed tone. Some also pointed out that Japan’s men’s javelin record is still held by Kazuhiro Mizoguchi, sparking discussion about how hard it is for new talent to emerge in throwing events. Kitaguchi herself is a world-class competitor, and this result can be read as a case of a seasoned veteran being overtaken by the momentum of a rising star.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Athletics/Asian Games] Kitaguchi Haruka takes silver in women’s javelin with 62.70m — falls short of 18-year-old Chinese record-setter’s 70m+ Games record, bronze medalist Takemoto Sae joins her on the double podium.”

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