2024 Japanese Olympic Trials: Day 6 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| Day 2 Finals Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Recap| Day 3 Finals Recap
• Day 4 Prelims Recap| Day 4 Finals Recap
• Day 5 Prelims Recap|Day 5 Finals Recap
• Day 6 Prelims Recap
• Live Result
• Livestream

We’re entering day six of the 2024 Japanese Olympic Trials with two major players still seeking qualification for the Paris Games.

13-time world champion Daiya Seto has collected 400m IM silver and 200m fly bronze here but without the selection standards needed for this summer. His final chance remains in the 200m IM in which he qualified as the top-seeded swimmer for this evening’s final.

34-year-old Ryosuke Irie missed his qualification chance in the 200m back but is a top challenger in the 100m back tonight. If successful, Irie will remarkably make his 5th Olympic team.

WOMEN’S 200 BACK – SEMI-FINAL

• Japanese National Record — 2:07.13 – Reiko Nakamura, 2008
• Asian Record — 2:06.46 – Zhao Jing (CHN), 2010
• World Record — 2:03.14 – Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2023
• JASF QT — 2:08.65

Top 8:

1. Chiaki Yamamoto, 2:11.80
2. Marina Furubayashi, 2:11.86
3. Anna Konishi, 2:12.00
4. Yuzuki Mizuno, 2:12.06
5. Ayame Suzuki, 2:12.70
6. Manami Nagaoka, 2:12.74
7. Yoshimitsu Hideno, 2:12.82
8. Hanane Hironaka, 2:12.99

The women’s 200m backstroke semi-final was on the relatively subtle side with no swimmer dipping under the 2:11 barrier.

17-year-old Chiaki Yamamoto led the way with a time of 2:11.80, holding a small advantage over Marina Furubayashi who notched 2:11.86.

Anna Konishi was next in line in 2:12.06 while the top seed out of the morning heats, 18-year-old Yuzuki Mizuno, is also in the mix as the 4th seed in 2:12.06.

The women will need to drop some major time to come within striking distance of the Japanese Swimming Federation (JASF)-mandated Olympic qualification time of 2:08.65.

Mizuno is the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships gold medalist, producing a personal best of 2:09.17. Furubayashi has been even faster, owning a PB of 2:08.89 but both women will need to generate their swiftest swims ever to make the grade.

MEN’S 200 IM – SEMI-FINAL

• Japanese National Record — 1:55.07 – Kosuke Hagino, 2016
• Asian Record — 1:54.62 – Wang Shun (CHN), 2023
• World Record — 1:54.00 – Ryan Lochte (USA), 2011
• JASF QT — 1:57.51

Top 8:

1. Daiya Seto, 1:58.33
2. Tomoyuki Matsushita, 1:58.40
3. So Ogata, 1:58.57
4. Takumi Mori, 1:58.86
5. Ippei Miyamoto, 1:59.03
6. Kosuke Makino, 1:59.68
7. Shuya Matsumoto, 1:59.85
8. Yuki Ikari, 2:00.07

All but one of the top 8 finishers in the men’s 200m IM semi-final delved under the 2:00 threshold, led by Olympic medalist Daiya Seto.

29-year-old Seto charged to the front of the pack at 1:58.33. He is seeking Paris qualification after missing the mark in both the 400 IM and 200 fly

Seto has been as fast as 1:55.55 in his career, a time he registered over 4 years ago. More recently he turned in a time of 1:57.54 at last month’s World Championships to place 4th in Doha.

The next 3 swimmers this evening were also sub-1:59, with Tomoyuki Matsushita, So Ogata and Takumi Mori hitting results of 1;58.40, 1:58.57 and 1:58.86, respectively.

Ogata is right behind Seto in the season’s world rankings having punched an outing of 1:57.65 at December’s Japan Open.

As a refresher, it was 18-year-old Matsushita who upstaged Seto in the 400m IM to qualify for his first Olympic squad. The teen owns a PB of 1:58.12 in this shorter distance and is already within .28 of that with his evening effort of 1:58.40.

MEN’S 50 FREE – SEMI-FINAL

• Japanese National Record — 21.67 – Shinri Shioura, 2019
• Asian Record — 21.67 – Shinri Shioura, 2019
• World Record — 20.91 – Cesar Cielo (BRA), 2009
• JASF QT — 21.82

Top 8:

1. Shinri Shioura, 22.21
2. Koshiro Sakai, 22.25
3. Shunichi Nakao, 22.30
4. Katsumi Nakamura, 22.33
5. Masahiro Kawane, 22.37
6. Ruyo Shigefushi, 22.48
7. Yusuke Suda, 22.58
8. 3-way tie – Nakao Shunichi, Reo Sakata, Tomoki Ishiguru, 22.72

Shinri Shioura carried his momentum from this morning’s prelims, turning in a time of 22.21 as the quickest racer in the men’s 50m free.

That shaved, .14 off of his earkier effort to set himself up for possible Olympic qualification in tomorrow night’s final.

Shioura has been a mainstay on the Japanese National scene since 2008, highlighted by two gold medals at the 2018 Asian Games. Shioura’s best time and national record stands at the 21.67 that he produced back in 2019, and he’ll need to near that mark because Swimming Japan’s Paris qualifying time is 21.82.

Koushiro Sakai and Shunichi Nakao will flank Shioura with respective results of 22.25 and 22.30. Shioura’s primary domestic rival, 30-year-old Katsumi Nakamura, will also be present, notching 22.33.

There was a 3-way tie for 8th place which means a swim-off will take place later in the session.

WOMEN’S 200 FLY – FINAL

• Japanese National Record — 2:04.69 — Natsumi Hoshi, 2012
• Asian Record — 2:01.81 — Liu Zige (CHN), 2009
• World Record — 2:01.81 — Liu Zige (CHN), 2009
• JASF QT — 2:07.95

GOLD – Airi Mitsui, 2:06.54 *Olympic Qualification
SILVER – Hiroko Makino, 2:07.61 *Olympic Qualification
BRONZE – Chiho Mizuguchi, 2:08.23

As with yesterday’s men’s 200m breast and 200m fly, two women earned Olympic Games qualification tonight in the 200m fly.

19-year-old Airi Mitsui crushed a new lifetime best of 2:06.54 to top the podium, earning her first Olympic Games berth in the process.

Splitting 1:01.36/1:05.18, Mitsui was in 3rd place heading into the wall at the halfway mark, with Chiho Mizuguchi leading in 1:00.26 with Hiroko Makino right behind in 1:00.89.

But Mitsui soared on the latter 100m to ultimately get the golden touch, shaving .23 off of her previous PB of 2:06.77. That cleared the JASF qualification time of 2:07.95 with room to spare. She remains ranked as Japan’s 4th-swiftest performer in history and she usurps Australian Abbey Connor to rank 5th in the world this season.

Although off her lifetime best of 2:06.92 from 2017, 24-year-old Makino joined Mitsui in making the Paris team. She touched in 2:07.61 as the silver medalist.

MEN’S 200 BACK – FINAL

• Japanese National Record — 1:52.51 — Ryosuke Irie, 2009
• Asian Record — 1:52.51 — Ryosuke Irie (JPN), 2009
• World Record — 1:51.92 — Aaron Peirsol (USA), 2009
• JASF QT — 1:56.92

GOLD – Hidekazu Takehara, 1:56.28 *Olympic Qualification
SILVER – Keita Sunama, 1:57.01
BRONZE – Ryosuke Irie, 1:58.37

Hidekazu Takehara put up the swim of his life to win this men’s 200m backstroke. He ripped a time of 1:56.28 to overtake his newly-minted career-quickest mark of 1:56.63 logged in last night’s semi-final as the top seed.

19-year-old Takehara opened in a mighty 56.22 and brought it home in 1:00.06 to accomplish his goal of making his first Olympic squad.

Entering these Trials, Takehara’s personal best rested at the 1:56.93 established at the 2023 World Championships Trials.

He collected bronze at last year’s Asian Games (1:57.63) and also grabbed silver at the 2022 World Junior Championships (1:58.22). That same year he became the Junior Pan Pacific Championships gold medalist, clocking a new competition record of 1:57.00.

His 1:56.28 performance bumped him up to become the 5th-best 200m backstroker in Japanese history.

In terms of the the season’s world rankings, is now situated as the 8th best performer on the planet at the moment.

Top 5 Japanese Men’s LCM 200 Backstroke Performers All-Time

1. Ryosuke Irie – 1:52.51, 2009
2. Kosuke Hagino – 1:54.23, 2014
3. Keita Sunama – 1:55.54, 2018
4. Yuki Shirai – 1:56.26, 2011
5. Hidekazu Takehara – 1:56.28

Splits Comparison:

28-year-old Keita Sunama fell painstakingly shy of the JASF-mandated selection standard of 1:56.92 on his way to capturing silver.

Sunama got to the wall in 1:57.01 to come within .09 of the 1:56.92 benchmark. He earned bronze in this event at the 2018 Asian Games where he produced a career-quickest result of 1:55.54 as Japan’s 3rd-quickest man in history.

Unfortunately for fans of 34-year-old Ryosuke Irie, the racing mainstay missed his final chance of making a 5th Olympic Games appearance.

Irie clocked a time of 1:58.37 to bag the bronze, well short of the QT. The national record holder added slightly from his 1:58.22 semi performance, even though he’s been as swift as 1:56.99 as recent as Japan’s 2022 World Championships Trials.

His misfire here isn’t a complete surprise, however, as the veteran turned his focus to the 100m back sprint since that time.

Irie was 2nd in the 100 back (54.10) on night three of this competition, but missed the qualification standard of 53.21. He clocked 53.46 at the Asian Games in September but wasn’t able to near that mark here in Tokyo.

He’s been a constant on the elite international backstroking scene for over 15 years. Look for a follow-up post celebrating his career.

WOMEN’S 200 BREAST – FINAL

• Japanese National Record — 2:19.65 — Rie Kaneto, 2016
• Asian Record — 2:19.65 — Rie Kaneto (JPN), 2016
• World Record — 2:17.55 — Evgeniia Chikunova (RUS), 2023
• JASF QT — 2:23.31

GOLD – Satomi Suzuki, 2:23.09 *Olympic Qualification
SILVER – Kanako Watanabe, 2:23.55
BRONZE – Runa Imai, 2:23.69

33-year-old Satomi Suzuki did it again. After ripping a lifetime best of 1:05.91 in the 100m breast earlier this week, Suzuki now added this 200m breast event to her Olympic lineup.

Suzuki punched a result of 2:23.09 to clear the JASF QT of 2:23.31. Her time was well off her PB of 2:20.72 from the Olympic Games but it’s her most rapid outing since nabbing 2:22.22 for bronze at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.

She now ranks 6th in the world this season in a time which would have placed 4th at this year’s World Championships.

Suzuki was a two-time medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, where she claimed bronze in the 100 breast (1:06.46) before elevating to silver in the 200m (2:20.92) distance.

27-year-old Kanako Watanabe, who was crowned World Champion in 2015, hit the wall in 2:23.55 to snag silver, missing the QT by just .24. She’s been as quick as 2:20.90 in the event, a time that she put on the board prior to the 2015 World Championships.

MEN’S 50 BREAST – FINAL

• Japanese National Record — 26.94 – Yasuhiro Koseki, 2018
• Asian Record — 26.20 – Qin Haiyang (CHN), 2023
• World Record — 25.95 – Adam Peaty (GBR), 2017

GOLD – Hayato Watanabe, 27.44
SILVER – Seiren Yamamoto, 27.68
BRONZE – Yoshimasa Furukawa, 27.78

The 50m stroke sprints haven’t been carrying nearly the excitement of the Olympic events with most of the top guns opting out of the races.

Nevertheless, Hayato Watanabe got it done for gold in 27.44 while Seiren Yamamoto earned silver in 27.68 and Yoshimasa Furukawa also landed on the podium with a bronze-worthy 27.78 to end the session.