2024 Japanese Olympic Trials – Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2024 JAPANESE OLYMPIC TRIALS

• Sunday, March 17th – Sunday, March 24th
• Tokyo Aquatics Center
• LCM (50m)
• Japan’s Olympic Selection Criteria
• Entries
• SwimSwam Entries Post
• Preview #1 / Preview #2
• Day 1 Prelims Recap | Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap
• Live Result
• Livestream

We’re entering day 2 of the 2024 Japanese Olympic Trials, the meet that represents the sole qualification opportunity for Japanese swimmers to earn Paris 2024 berths.

Day one rendered no qualifiers against the stiff Japanese Swimming Federation (JASF) – mandated qualification times. Then already this morning we saw Tomoru Honda miss out on making the final of the men’s 400m IM despite being a favorite for the podium. Nothing is a sure thing when it comes to a stress-heavy Trials meet.

Today we’ll see leukemia survivor Rikako Ikee attempt to make her 3rd Olympic Games appearance, racing in the women’s 100m fly. She already nailed a swift time of 57.03 in last night’s semi-final to take the top seed, putting up the fastest performance since her comeback to competitive racing in late 2020.

MEN’S 200 FREE – SEMI-FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 1:44.65 – Katsuhiro Matsumoto, 2021
• Asian Record – 1:44.39 – Sun Yang (CHN), 2017
• World Record – 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann (GER), 2009
• JASF QT – 1:45.84

The men’s 200m freestyle field is working against a stiff JASF-mandated QT of 1:45.84, a benchmark under which just 3 swimmers have ever been among the Japanese elite.

One of them is Katsuhiro Matsumoto, the reigning national record holder who owns a lifetime best of 1:44.65 in this event.

27-year-old Matsumoto claimed the 2nd seed this evening with a time of 1:47.69. That was just .06 off the top man, Konosuke Yanagimoto who hit 1:47.69.

Yanagimoto ranks as Japan’s 13th-best performer in history, possessing a career-quickest mark of 1:47.45 from 2021. He’s already within striking distance of that result.

Tatsuya Murasa also dipped under the 1:48-barrier in 1:47.83 as the 3rd-quickest swimmer of the evening. Murasa recently produced a best time of 1:47.49 at the age of 16 so the teen was just a hair off his best-ever en route to making tomorrow night’s final.

In addition to individual qualification, the men are also chasing an average time of 1:47.16 to meet the JASF qualification time for the 4x200m free relay.

Top 8:

1. Konosuke Yanagimoto – 1:47.63
2. Katsuhiro Matsumoto – 1:47.69
3. Tatsuya Murasa – 1:47.83
4. Hidenari Mano – 1:48.04
5. Fuyu Yoshida – 1:48.17
6. Hiroto Shamizu – 1:48.39
7. Naito Ehara – 1:48.47
8. Temma Watanabe – 1:48.72

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST – SEMI-FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 1:05.19 – Reona Aoki, 2022
• Asian Record – 1:05.19 – Reona Aoki, 2022
• World Record – 1:04.13 – Lilly King (USA), 2017
• JASF QT – 1:06.47

Top 8:

1. Reona Aoki, 1:05.76
2. Satomi Suzuki, 1:06.29
3. Yukino Miyasaka, 1:07.31
4. Runa Imai, 1:07.48
5. Kanako Watanabe – 1:07.54
6. Katomi Kato – 1:07.68
7. Yuyumi Obatake – 1:08.90
8. Anna Inagaki – 1:09.01

National record holder Reona Aoki staked her claim on this women’s 100m breast event, landing lane 4 for tomorrow night’s final with a semi-swim of 1:05.76.

Aoki opened in 30.62 and brought it home in 35.14 to clock the sole outing of the field under the 1:06.00 barrier. She’s already well under the JASF QT of 1:06.47 but will need to repeat this caliber of performance tomorrow evening.

33-year-old Satomi Suzuki was also under that benchmark, earning the 2nd seed decisively in 1:06.29. That’s just .09 outside of her best-ever 1:06.20 earned in the heats at the 2023 World Championships. She ultimately placed 8th in Fukuoka in a final time of 1:06.67.

Suzuki has showcased a career resurgence over the past year, highlighted by earning silver in the 50m and 100m breaststroke distances at September’s Asian Games.

Lurking as the 5th seed is Kanako Watanabe, Japan’s 2nd-best performer in history.

Aoki’s effort now ranks the 29-year-old 4th in the world on the season, beating her previous season-best of 1:05.98 logged at the Tokyo Open.

MEN’S 100 BACK – SEMI-FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 52.24 – Ryosuke Irie, 2009
• Asian Record – 51.86 – Xu Jiayu (CHN), 2017
• World Record – 51.60 – Thomas Ceccon (ITA), 2022
• JASF QT – 53.21

Top 8:

1. Ryosuke Irie – 53.89
2. Riku Matsuyama – 54.04
3. Yusuke Sato – 54.18
4. Osamu Kato – 54.24
5. Takeshi Kawamoto – 54.55
6. Shuichi Takehara – 54.57
7. Ryota Naito – 54.84
8. Daiki Yanagawa – 55.04

34-year-old Ryosuke Irie has still got it, capturing the top seed of the men’s 100m back in a time of 53.89. That’s within half a second of the season-best 53.46 he produced for silver at last year’s Asian Games.

Mainstay Irie retains a personal best and Japanese national record of 52.24 from 2009.

Behind Irie tonight was Riku Matsuyama who butted up against the 54-second barrier with a swim of 54.04. Matsuyama recently posted a best time of 53.84, eclipsing Irie at the recent Kosuke Kitajima Cup.

3rd-seeded Yusuke Sato added time from his morning swim where he earned the sole sub-54-second result of 53.96. He clocked 54.18 this evening to remain in the hunt after already claiming 50m back bronze on night one.

Takeshi Kawamoto opted out of the men’s 50m fly in which he owns the national record and entered as the top seed. Instead, he went all-in for this men’s 1back and is right in the mix with a time off 54.55 as the 5th seed.

WOMEN’S 200 FREE – SEMI-FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 1:54.85 – Rikako Ikee, 2018
• Asian Record – 1:53.92 – Siobhan Haughey (HKG), 2021
• World Record – 1:52.85 – Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS), 2023
• JASF QT – 1:56.55

Top 8:

1. Waka Kobori – 1:58.72
2. Rio Shirai – 1:59.14
3. Momoka Yoshi – 1:59.67
4. Kinuko Mochizuki – 1:59.88
5. Miyu Namba – 2:00.17
6. Hiroko Makino – 2:00.44
7. Nagisa Ikemoto – 2:00.47
8. Aoi Masuda – 2:00.65

The women’s 200m freestyle is looking fairly bleak, as just 4 swimmers cracked the 2:00 barrier in tonight’s semi-finals.

Waka Kobori, the 400m free silver medalist on night one, led the pack with a mark of 1:58.72. That’s only .02 outside of her lifetime best of 1:58.70 nabbed at 2021’s Japanese Inter-College Competition.

Versatile 24-year-old Rio Shirai snagged the 2nd seed in 1:59.14. That’s well off her personal best of 1:56.82 earned at the 2019 World Championships.

The 400m free champion here, Miyu Namba, captured the 5th seed in 2:00.17. Nagisa Ikemoto logged a 7th-seeded 2:00.47, saving some energy for the 100m fly final coming up on the program this evening.

As with the men, these competitors also need to average a certain time – 1:59.75 – to put up a potential Olympic 4x200m free relay.

MEN’S 400 IM – FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 4:06.05 – Kosuke Hagino, 2016
• Asian Record – 4:06.05 – Kosuke Hagino, 2016
• World Record – 4:02.50 – Leon Marchand (FRA), 2023
• JASF QT – 4:10.63

GOLD – Tomoyuki Matsushita, 4:10.04 *OLY Qualifying
SILVER – Daiya Seto, 4:10.84
BRONZE – Kaito Tabuchi, 4:11.15

The first shocker in this men’s 400m IM was the fact that Tomoru Honda, Japan’s #3 performer of all time, missed out on this final. We don’t know if it’s due to the ankle injury he raced through for 200m fly gold at last month’s World Championships or if he simply misjudged the competition, a la Daiya Seto missing the final at the 2020 Olympic Games.

The second shocker was how Seto didn’t win this 4IM final and fell short of the Olympic selection standard.

Seto looked smooth and in control of the race until 18-year-old Tomoyuki Matsushita unleashed a final 100m free of 56.71 to steal the gold.

Matsushita stopped the clock at 4:10.04, a new lifetime best. That not only beat out the 4:10.97 championships record he crushed to become the reigning world junior champion but his effort also cleared the JASF-mandated QT of 4:10.63 needed to notch his name onto the Paris roster.

WOMEN’S 100 FLY – FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 56.08 – Rikako Ikee, 2018
• Asian Record – 55.62 – Zhang Yufei (CHN), 2020
• World Record – 55.48 – Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 2016
• JASF QT – 57.34

GOLD – Mizuki Hirai, 56.91 *OLY Qualifying
SILVER – Rikako Ikee, 57.30 *OLY Qualifying
BRONZE – Shiho Matsumoto, 57.31 *New Student Record

We saw two athletes qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, making this women’s 100m butterfly a big success for Japan.

Getting to the wall first was 17-year-old Mizuki Hirai who fired off the fastest time of her young career. Hirai touched in 56.91 to break the 57-barrier for the first time ever, clearing the JASF QT of 57.34 with room to spare.

Hirai opened in 26.66 and closed in 30.25 to join Rikako Ikee as the nation’s only swimmers to ever delve into 56-second territory

23-year-old Ikee accomplished an enormous feat in her own right, grabbing an Olympic berth for her 3rd Games appearance. Ikee earned silver in 57.30, also dipping under the 57.34 QT. Her semi-final time was faster in 57.03 but it doesn’t matter at this point.

Both outings represent her fastest since returning to competitive swimming after having battled leukemia for most of 2019. The sprinter and two-time Olympian is the Japanese record holder in this event with her best time of 56.08, which she recorded en route to gold at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.

She’s been training under Michael Bohl in Australia since the fall.

Of note, Shiho Matsumoto was only .01 behind Ikee, notching 57.31 for a new lifetime best and Japanese Student Record. She, too, was under the 57.34 selection standard.

Mizuki’s monster PB now ranks her 8th in the world this season at just 17 years of age. Ikee is 13th in the world at the moment.

MEN’S 100 BREAST – FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 58.78 – Yasuhiro Koseki, 2018
• Asian Record – 57.69 – Qin Haiyang (CHN), 2023
• World Record – 56.88 – Adam Peaty (GBR), 2019
• JASF QT – 59.26

GOLD – Takashi Taniguchi, 59.43
SILVER – Yu Hanaguruma, 59.47 & Ippei Watanabe, 59.47

The men’s 100m breast saw the top 4 finishers all dip under the 1:00 barrier but each missed the qualification time of 59.26 needed to add their names to the Olympic roster.

Taku Taniguchi upgraded himself from 2nd out of the semi-final to become the gold medalist, registering a winning effort of 59.43. That’s a solid personal best, overtaking the 59.72 he put up at the 2023 Japanese Inter-College Championships.

Yu Hanaguruma and Ippei Watanabe both earned silver, simultaneously touching in 59.47 in this extremely tight battle to the wall.

Watanabe shaved .05 off his previous PB of 59.42 while Hanaguruma’s previous PB sat at 59.76 from April of last year.

Rising star Yamato Fukasawa settled for 4th tonight in a time of 59.50, just off the 59.41 established in last night’s semi-final.

Despite no man qualifying in this 100m breast, the improvement in these swimmers’ speed bodes very well for the hotly-contested 200m distance.

MEN’S 50 FLY – FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 23.13 – Takeshi Kawamoto, 2023
• Asian Record – 22.93 – Joseph Schooling (SGP), 2017
• World Record – 22.27 – Andrii Govorov (UKR), 2018

GOLD – Naoki Mizunuma, 23.26
SILVER – Yuya Tanaka, 23.44
BRONZE – Shunichi Nakao, 23.46

In this non-Olympic men’s 50m fly, Naoki Mizunuma posted a time of 23.26 to reap the gold. That checks in as a new PB for the 27-year-old, surpassing the 23.31 logged at last year’s Japanese Championships.

Mizunuma is now the #3 Japanese performer of all time, sitting only behind national record holder Takeshi Kawamoto (23.13, 2023) and Yuya Tanaka (23.19, 2022).

Kawamoto dropped this event to focus on the 100m back while Tanaka settled for silver this evening in 23.44. Shunichi Nakao rounded out the podium in 23.46 for bronze.