2018 KOSUKE KITAJIMA CUP
- Saturday, January 27th & Sunday, January 28th
- Tatsumi International Swim Centre
- Tokyo, Japan
- Meet Site
- LCM
- Results (once available)
Named for the legendary Japanese Olympic breaststroker Kosuke Kitajima, the Kosuke Kitajima Cup gets underway this weekend in Tokyo, Japan. An open competition, national and international athletes will descend up on the famous Tatsumi International Swim Center for 2 days of action at the site of the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.
Japanese national record holders Katsumi Nakamura, Suzuka Hasegawa and teen wonder Rikako Ikee are all expected to race, as are World Championships medalists Yui Ohashi and Daiya Seto. 17-year-old Ikee recently crushed 4 new national records in short course meters while competing at the Tokyo Metro New Year’s Championships earlier this month.
Last year’s edition of the event saw Ippei Watanabe crank out a new World Record in the men’s long course meters 200 breaststroke. The then-19-year-old produced a monster 2:06.67 to become the first man ever to venture under 2:07 in the event. He is slated to race in Tokyo at the meet to try to better that mark.
As extra incentive for athletes to unleash something spectacular, the Cup’s Executive Committee will offer a significant monetary bonus to the tune of 100,000 yen (~$1,000 USD) for the breaking of a Japanese National Record and 1 million yen (~$10,000 USD) or more for setting a new World Record at the 2-day event.
