2026 Sydney Open: Japan’s Tatsuya Murasa Puts Up 1:45.84 200 Free

2026 SYDNEY OPEN & UNISPORT NATIONALS

• Friday, May 15th – Sunday, May 17th
• Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre
• LCM (50m)
• SwimSwam Preview
• Meet Central
• Start List
• Day 1 Recap
• Live Results

We entered day two of the 2026 Sydney Open and Unisport Nationals, taking place at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, with the three-day affair offering a prime racing opportunity for domestic swimmers to tune up ahead of next month’s Commonwealth Games Trials.

There is a strong Japanese contingent racing at the meet as well, giving them a chance to take on some foreign competition as preparation for this year’s prestigious Asian Games.

World Championships medalist Tatsuya Murasa put on a show in the men’s 200m freestyle, topping the podium in a super swift in-season effort of 1:45.84.

Splitting 24.96/26.75 (51.71)/27.15/26.98, Murasa got to the wall over a second ahead of the pack en route to coming within striking distance of his season-best. That quicker mark remains at the 1:45.15 notched at the Japan Swim in March to currently rank 5th in the world.

19-year-old Murasa was a surprise bronze medalist in this event at the 2025 World Championships, ripping a new lifetime best and national record of 1:44.54 in Singapore.

Tonight it was 21-year-old Edward Sommerville who claimed the silver, producing a solid result of 1:46.98.

That held off 19-year-old Nishikawa Asaki of Japan, who followed up his 400m free victory from last night with a time of 1:47.88, good enough for bronze.

Another swimmer who doubled up on a night one victory was 17-year-old phenom Shin Ohashi.

The World Junior Championships multi-medalist won last night’s 200m breast (2:09.93) and also claimed the 100m sprint this evening in 59.40, the sole mark under the minute barrier.

28-year-old national record holder Sam Williamson was next to the wall in 1:00.39, with Joshua Anderson rounding out the podium in 1:01.37.

As for Ohashi, the teen currently ranks #2 in the world in the 1breast event, courtesy of the 58.67 WJR he registered at the Japan Swim.

Three-time Olympian Rikako Ikee dove in for two events, with her schedule including the women’s 100m fly and 50m free.

The 25-year-old found success in the former, hitting a time of 58.78 for the decisive win.

Teammate and World Championships medalist Mio Narita turned in a time of 59.89 as the runner-up, with Shiho Matsumoto placing 3rd in 59.91.

As for the 50m free, it was 20-year-old Bond ace Hannah Casey who captured the gold, putting up a swim of 25.27.

Ikee settled for silver in 25.48, with countrywoman Ai Soma also dipping under the 26-second threshold in 25.98.

21-year-old William Petric of Nunawading delivered a time of 1:58.68 as the sole contestant in the men’s 200m IM to clear the 2:00 threshold.

Petric’s winning result represents the 10th-swiftest time of his young career, one which boasts a PB of 1:57.18 from the 2025 Queensland Championships to rank 8th in the world at the moment.

Olympic silver medalist Tomoyuki Matsushita snagged the silver this evening in 2:00.36 while David Schlicht bagged the bronze in 2:02.25.

Additional Notes

• The women’s 400m free saw 21-year-old Sarah Locke grab the gold, hitting 4:14.52 for a comfortable lead over her competitors. Casey was back in the water for this event after her 50m fly, earning the silver in 4:17.42. Georgie Roper rounded out the podium in 4:20.62.
• 18-year-old Zoe Ammundsen topped the women’s 100m back podium in a result of 1:01.21. Elizabeth Gan touched after in 1:02.75, with Narita closely behind for bronze in 1:02.85.
• Tilly King of Bond put up the fastest time of the women’s 200m breaststroke final, hitting the wall in 2:32.89. Alannah Torrance reached the finish in 2:33.47 for silver and Brisbane Grammar’s Elaine Chu captured bronze in 2:37.14.
• Asaki upgraded his bronze from the 200m free to gold in the 800m distance, registering an effort of 7:55.76, a new lifetime best. He now ranks as Japan’s 12th-fastest man in history. Tommy Neill settled for silver in 7:58.11, a new PB for him, as Bond’s Thomas Hauck also landed on the podium in 8:18.90, good enough for bronze.
• Japan’s Hidekazu Takehara won the men’s 200m back in 1:57.11, narrowly defeating domestic two-time Olympian Se-Bom Lee, who touched a hair behind in 1:57.27. Stuart Swinburn landed a time of 1:58.04 for 3rd place. Takehara currently ranks 6th in the world as a result of the 1:55.50 notched at September’s Intercollegiate Championships.
• Bond’s Ben Armbruster led a trio of sub-24-second swimmers in the men’s 50m fly. The 24-year-old produced a gold medal-worthy outing of 23.42 to give him the edge over Japan’s Katsuhiro Matsumoto. Matsumoto touched in 23.84, with Shoon Mitsunaga collecting bronze in 23.89. Mitsunaga recently put up a time of 23.06 in March to match the Japanese national record Taikan Tanaka put on the books last year.