5 Storylines, All the Links You Need For the 2016 Japan Open

2016 Japan Open

Schedule

Friday

  • 200m Butterfly
  • 200m Freestyle
  • 100m Backstroke
  • 100m Breaststroke
  • Women’s 800m Freestyle
  • Men’s 1500m Freestyle

Saturday

  • 400 IM
  • 50m Butterfly
  • 50m Breaststroke
  • 400m Freestyle
  • 200m Backstroke
  • 100m Freestyle

Sunday

  • 200m IM
  • 50m Backstroke
  • 50m Freestyle
  • 100m Butterfly
  • 200m Breaststroke

Five Storylines To Watch

1. Cameron McEvoy Takes On Four Freestyle Events: Freestyle sensation Cameron McEvoy will lead a team of Australians heading to Tokyo to test themselves against Japan’s best at the Tokyo Open. McEvoy will take on his three usual events, the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle, along with the 400 freestyle. “The 400m freestyle is on a day that doubles up with the 100m freestyle but the 400m freestyle is on first so it would be nice to do that as a practice for Rio when I am doing the 100m freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle and vice-versa,” McEvoy said. Along with the tough 400/100 double McEvoy will endure on day 2, he will also take on Japan’s Kosuke Hagino in a clash of the titans in the 200 freestyle on day 1. Two-time 100m freestyle world champion James Magnussen will also be in attendance competing in the 50 and 100 freestyle.

2. Kosuke Hagino Checks In After Impressive Olympic Trials: After lighting the pool on fire at the Japanese Olympic Trials in April, Japanese superstar Kosuke Hagino will test himself here at the Japan Open as he prepares for the upcoming Olympic Games in August. Hagino will compete in his three Olympic events here and nothing more: the 200 IM, 400 IM, and 200 free. Hagino will have plenty of in-house competition in the IM events with countrymen Hiromasa Fujimori and Daiya Seto competing, while his main competition in the 200 freestyle will come from Australian Cameron McEvoy.

3. Campbell Sisters To Take On Young Japanese Sprinters: Cate and Bronte Campbell head to Japan looking to sharpen their skills as they head into the Olympic Games as big favorites in the sprint freestyle events. Bronte is the reigning world champion in both sprint freestyle events, while Cate currently leads the 2016 world rankings in both events. The Campbell sisters swimming in Japan will be a good test for young up and coming Japanese sprinters Rikako Ikee and Miki Uchida. Ikee, just 15 years old, currently ranks 16th and 23rd in the world in the 50 and 100 freestyle respectively and is also rising in the butterfly ranks. Uchida is ranked 19th in the world in the 100 freestyle at age 21. Both will benefit from facing off with two of the worlds best.

4. Heavy Hitters Clash in Women’s Breaststroke Events: Japan has some of the best female breaststrokers in the world, and Australia is sending one of their best in what shapes up to be a few fantastic races. In the 100 breast there will be Kanako Watanabe and Rie Kaneto leading the way for Japan, ranked 10th and 12th in the world respectively. Taylor McKeown of Australia is ranked 14th, and add in Satomi Suzuki (15th) and Runa Imai (23rd) and this shapes up to be a very intriguing race. The 200 is even better, with four of the world’s top 10 competing. Kaneto (1st), McKeown (3rd) and Watanabe (5th) are all in the top-5, and Imai is also in the top-10 in 9th. Add in Sakiko Shimizu (15th) and Reona Aoki (18th) and the women’s 200 breast could easily be one of the best races of the meet.

5. Reigning 400 IM World Champion Seto Takes on Monster Schedule: After a so-so Olympic Trials where he managed to qualify for the Olympics in the 400 IM and 200 fly, two-time 400 IM World Champion Daiya Seto will look to put himself on track for a good performance in Rio with some strong swims here in Japan over a wide range of events. Seto is entered in a whopping six events: all five 200’s to go along with his speciality 400 IM. Entering all of these races gives Seto a chance to work on each stroke, something that will aid his 400 IM training heading into the Olympics. After winning the 2015 world title in a time of 4:08.50, Seto could only muster a 4:13.52 at the Japanese Olympic Trials while countryman Kosuke Hagino threw down a time of 4:08.90. A good performance here could give Seto the confidence he needs heading into the Olympics.

 

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Hswimmer
8 years ago

Live stream??

About James Sutherland

James Sutherland

James swam five years at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, specializing in the 200 free, back and IM. He finished up his collegiate swimming career in 2018, graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics. In 2019 he completed his graduate degree in sports journalism. Prior to going to Laurentian, James swam …

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