After posted a 58.90 to win the 100 breaststroke Kosuke Kitajima was back in action in the 200 breast and out to prove he was the man to beat in both distances. He looks to become the first swimmer to complete the “triple double” as he is the two-time defending champion from 2004 and 2008 in both breaststroke events. In the final of the 200 breaststroke he once again made a statement to the rest of the world with a textile best of 2:08.00. That time betters Naoya Tomita 2:08.25 from last year which stood as the previous best ever in textile.
Not far behind and also faster than Tomita’s time was Ryo Tateishi in 2:08.17. That time is now the second best in the world this year and second best ever in textile. The time is also a personal best by Tateishi as it betters the 2:08.25 he swam in 2009.
The third place finisher Akihiro Yamaguchi rebroke his own junior national record with a time of 2:09.70. While he will miss out on the Olympic team, the 18-year old now sits at fourth on the year to showcase the future of Japanese breaststrokers.
Takeshi Matsuda moved farther ahead of the rest of the world in the 200 fly as he bettered his already top ranked time of the year. He touched in 1:54.01, faster than the 1:54.19 he swam in the semifinals. That time now sits .7 better than Nick D’Arcy who is second in the world. That is the 24th best all-time but is still off the 1:52.97 he swam in Beijing which is also the Japanese national record. The time also matches his own textile personal best.
Kazuya Kaneda was second in 1:55.39 to join Matsuda on the Olympic team. His time just sneaks under the Japanese qualifying standard of 1:55.65 to secure his spot in the event in London. That time ranks him fourth in the world this year.
It should also be noted that third place finisher Ryusuke Sakata (1:55.88) is now the fifth fastest in the world this year while fourth place finisher Hidemasa Sano (1:55.97) now sits in sixth based on the 1:55.90 he swam in the semifinals. To add to the Japanese depth in the event fifth place finisher Kenta Hirai, only 18 years old, is now 17th at 1:56.67. Yuki Kobori (1:56.86) is 19th.
Haruka Ueda claimed a national record with a 54.00 in the women’s 100 free. That time betters the old record of 54.33 set by Misaki Yamaguchi in 2009 and also sneaks under the Japanese qualifying mark of 54.07. Ueda moves into the top 25 of the year with the eighth fastest time.
Yayoi Matsumoto was second in 54.80 to miss out on the individual event in London but along with Miki Uchida (55.08) and Hanae Ito (55.10) she will make up the 400 freestyle relay as the foursome was able to clear the 3:42.52 needed. Uchida also set a new national junior record with her time in the finals.
Takuro Fujii topped the field in the 100 free with a time of 49.20 but still finished well off the Japanese time standard of 48.28 needed. That will mean that there will be no Japanese representatives in the individual event in London this summer. That time also failed to meet the FINA A standard.
Second went to Yuki Kawachi in 49.56 while Shinri Shioura finished third in 49.65 and Kenji Kobase was fourth in 49.97. The top four also failed to meet the Japanese mark of 3:15.90 needed to qualify a relay to London which
Semi-finals
Ryosuke Irie topped the field in the 200 back in 1:56.16. That time comes up well short of the 1:54.02 he swam in January which is the top time of the year. He looks to better that in tomorrow night’s finals. Kazuki Watanabe took second in 1:57.88 which is also better than the Japanese standard and he will look to add his name to the Olympic team as well. Also in contention are Kuninori Tada (1:58.17) and Hayate Matubara (1:58.32).
Satomi Suzuki will look for a sweep of the women’s breaststroke events as she led all qualifiers in the 200 breaststroke. Suzuki moved up to fourth in the world this year with a 2:24.56. Kanako Watanabe was second in 2:24.88 which is also under the Japanese time standard. A number of others swimmers touched in 2:25 and all will look for a top two finish tomorrow.
The newest Japanese national record holders Kosuke Hagino will look for the IM double as he led semifinals with a 1:59.64. That is just a hundredth better than the mark needed by the Japanese Federation for the Olympic spot. Ken Takakuwa (1:59.82) and Daiya Seta (1:59.93) were also under 2:00 but will need to be a bit quicker in the finals if they want to earn a trip to London.