17-Yr-Old Kazushi Imafuku Scorches 14:50.18 1500 Free JPN National Record

2025 JAPAN SWIM

• Thursday, March 20th – Sunday, March 23rd
• Tokyo Aquatics Centre
• LCM (50m)
• SwimSwam Preview #1
• SwimSwam Preview #2
• Meet Central
• Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/Day 3 Recap
• Live Results

The final day of the 2025 Japan Swim unfolded from Tokyo today. The 4-day competition represented the sole qualifying opportunity for the nation’s swimmers to add their names to the roster for this summer’s World Championships in Singapore.

17-year-old Kazushi Imafuku already made noise in the mid-distance freestyle events here, including ripping a new personal best of 3:47.77 in the 400m free.

But the teen saved his best for last, unleashing a new Japanese national record en route to topping the men’s 1500m freestyle podium.

Racing in the fastest heat this evening, Kazushi ripped a monster time of 14:50.18 to get to the wall first.

He scored the sole time of the field under the 15:00 barrier, with Daichi Yamamoto next in line at 15:09.08 followed by Kenta Ozaki who touched in 15:18.16.

Imafuku’s performance surpassed the longstanding national record of 14:54.80 Kohei Yamamoto put on the books over 11 years ago in 2014.

Entering this competition, Imafuku’s lifetime best rested at the 14:59.97 he registered for gold at the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships so the teen hacked over 10 seconds off that previous performance to grab the gold here.

Splits for Imafuku’s 14:50.18 Japanese National Record

Imafuku now ranks #1 in the world, dethroning Olympic champion Florian Wellbrock of Germany. Additionally, his outing cleared the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard of 15:01.89 needed to qualify for the 2025 World Championships.

After the race, Imafuku told Asian media, “I practiced like crazy, and a lot of people supported me. I’ve come a long way, which I would never have been able to achieve on my own.”

Regarding his race strategy, the Gakuen High School student said, “Just go for it from the first half, and endure in the second half.” (Hochi News)