Watching athletes nail a gold medal is plenty exhilarating; watching them do so while breaking world records is even more so. And those who attended the Incheon Asian Games saw that happen many times.

The 17th Asian Games saw 14 world records shattered by its participating athletes in Incheon.

More than half of the new world records were set by weightlifters, who outlifted nine of the previous figures set in the sport.

North Korean star weightlifter Kim Un-guk hoisted more than twice his own weight by lifting up 154 kg in the snatch in the men’s 62 kg class, and proceeded to break another world record later when his combined weights in the snatch and the clean and jerk shot up to 332 kg.

Two more world records were also logged by other weightlifting champs from the reclusive country, while the remaining five were all set by female lifters, including China’s Zhou Lulu and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Tzu Chi.

Four world records were rewritten in the shooting disciplines, with teams from China scoring the highest-ever points in the men’s 50-meter rifle prone, women’s 10 m air rifle and in the women’s team double trap. South Korean shooter Kim Mi-jin scored 110 points in the women’s individual double trap to be named the world’s best shooter in the discipline.

Archers also flaunted record-breaking performances during the 16-day competition.

The trio of Seok Ji-hyun, Choi Bo-min and Kim Yun-hee from the host country, long known for its dominance in the sport, earned a combined 238 points in the compound women’s team event and emerged as the new world record holders.

By country, North Korea and China took the lead after their athletes rewrote four world records each. They were followed by Chinese Taipei with three, and then by South Korea and Kazakhstan with two and one, respectively.

Athletes at the Asiad also topped the Asian records during their athletic bouts, and even excluding those in the world record category, the number came to 14 in total.

Kosuke Hagino of Japan, the surprising swimming champ, seized first place in the men’s 200 m individual medley with an Asian record of 1:55.34.

Hagino, voted the MVP of the Asian Games, stunned a pair of Olympic champs, Sun Yang of China and Park Tae-hwan of South Korea, to win the 200 m freestyle race, one of four swimming gold medals here.

Qatar’s Femi Seun Ogunode grabbed the gold in the men’s 100 m sprint in an Asian record of 9.93 seconds, becoming the fastest man on the continent. (Yonhap)