By Retta Race on SwimSwam
2025 KOSUKE KITAJIMA CUP
- Friday, January 24th – Sunday, January 26th
- Tokyo Aquatics Center, Tokyo, Japan
- LCM (50m)
- SwimSwam Preview
- Results
A mishap ruined the flow of action on day one of the 2025 Kosuke Kitajima Cup at Tokyo Aquatics Center.
The backstroke flags were in the incorrect position for the women’s 400m IM final tonight which rendered multiple competitors crashing into the wall or missing their turns entirely due to not being able to accurately count their strokes.
Instead of sitting at 5m from the wall, the flags flew at 2.5m.
Kosuke Kitajima杯の女子400m個人メドレーで5mフラッグの場所を付け間違える大トラブル発生。
数人ターンをミスって壁に激突しました…。 pic.twitter.com/kb71Gmo5PY— 暇なおじさん (@kakkies03) January 24, 2025
According to Chief Referee Takanori Awai, the race started without the referees and officials noticing the mistake.
Per a report in Spinochi, Awai finally noticed when several athletes hit their heads during the 150-meter turn.
“Some athletes hit their heads and suffered whiplash-like conditions. This should never have happened. As far as I know, this has never happened before,” he said. (Spinochi)
The women’s 400m IM will be re-run tomorrow while swimmers in the race were encouraged to go to the hospital to get checked out, even if they didn’t feel any after-effects.
The men’s and women’s 200m back event was contested earlier in the session without incident as was the men’s 400m IM final which took place after the women’s.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Flag Mishap Causes Chaos On Day 1 Of 2025 Kosuke Kitajima Cup