15 Year-Old Rikako Ikee Breaks Japanese Record in the 100 Freestyle

In October 15 year-old Rikako Ikee set a new junior world record in the women’s 50 butterfly and today at the Kitajima Cup in Tokyo she just missed setting her second junior world record by 15 one-hundredths of a second. Ikee won the women’s 100 freestyle in a time of 53.99 missing Shen Duo‘s record of 53.84.

Her time may not have broken the junior world mark, but it was good enough to set a new national record in the event. Ikee beat Haruka Ueda‘s record of 54.00 by one one-hundredth of a second.

Ikee also won the women’s 100 butterfly in a time of 58.07.

On the first day of the competition Kosuke Hagino won the men’s 400 IM in a time of 4:11.38 beating his old rival Daiya Seto by over a second. On the Sunday the two battled once again in the 200 IM this time the finish was much closer. Hagino took the event in a time of 1:57.73 followed by Seto who posted a 1:57.95.

Hagino’s time puts him third in the world rankings just behind Seto who posted a 1:57.72 in September.

Hagino was not the only man to record a time that ranks top five in the world Ippei Watanabe won the men’s 200 breaststroke in a time of 2:09.40 placing him fourth in the world rankings. He beat his season’s best of 2:09.94 which he recorded in October.

Yasuhiro Koseki finished second in a time of 2:10.06 followed by Kosuke Kitajima who touched in a time of 2:10.31.

Sakiko Shimizu just missed the world’s top five in the women’s 200 IM winning the event in a time of 2:11.80 which puts her sixth in the world rankings.

Watanabe took the men’s meet MVP while Ikee won the award on the women’s side.