2018 Japan Swim: Ageless Ryosuke Irie Rocks World Rankings

2018 JAPAN SWIM (JAPANESE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS)

• Tuesday, April 3rd – Sunday, April 8th
• Tatsumi International Swim Centre, Tokyo, Japan
• LCM
• Selection meet for Asian Games, Pan Pacific Championships, Jr. Pan Pacific Championships & Youth Olympics
• Meet Site
• SwimSwam Preview
• Start Lists
• Live Results
• Day 1 Prelims
• Day 1 Finals
• Day 2 Prelims

Day 2 finals in Tokyo saw 2 national records go down to bring the meet total to 3 thus far. As reported, Rikako Ikee cranked out a new best time and NR in the women’s 100m butterfly with her gold medal-garnering effort of 56.38. That bumps her ahead of teen rival Penny Oleksiak of Canada on the all-time top performers in the event.

Additionally tonight, Kengo Ida snatched a new national record in the men’s 50m fly, topping the Tokyo podium in a mark of 23.40. We reported earlier how Ida, who finished 4th in this event at last year’s edition of the meet, was able to hack .05 off of the old national record of 23.45 to establish himself as the sprint master in the butterfly discipline at the 2018 Japan Swim.

Yukimi Moriyama was tonight’s 800m freestyle victor for the women, clinching the title in a mark of 8:31.44.

In the men’s 100m backstroke, the ongoing duel between national record holder Ryosuke Irie and fellow veteran swimmer Junya Koga that we saw throughout prelims and semi’s continued tonight, with Irie capturing a 3-0 victory over his rival. Irie clocked 53.18 to win tonight’s gold medal, while Koga touched less than half a second behind in 53.62 for silver. They represented the only 2 competitors to dip under the 54 second threshold in the race.

For the seemingly ageless 28-year-old Irie, his time now hops over American Ryan Murphy to sit as the 2nd fastest in the world this year. Irie’s outing tonight overtook his own season-best of 53.26 from the Pro Swim Series Atlanta. Koga, who is 30 years of age, is now situated as the 6th fastest swimmer in the world. Both men’s performances carry weight headed into Pan Pacific Championships happening later this summer.

After notching a prelims and semi time under the 60-second threshold in outings of 59.82 and 58.96, respectively, Yasuhiro Koseki scored the men’s 100m breaststroke gold in a final time of 59.30. He remained as the only swimmer to delve into sub-minute territory, with Hayato Watanabe finished in 1:00.18 for silver, while reigning 200m breaststroke world record holder Ippei Watanabe nabbed bronze in 1:00.27. Of note, Hiromasa Fujimori was disqualified in the race.