Nakamura Clocks 48.13 100 Free At Kosuke Kitajima Cup

2018 KOSUKE KITAJIMA CUP

• Saturday, January 27th & Sunday, January 28th
• Tatsumi International Swim Centre
• Tokyo, Japan
• Meet Site
• LCM
• Results

The line-up at Tatsumi International Swim Centre lost some of its luster when Olympic champion Kosuke Hagino wound up not competing due to illness and his medal-winning-partner-in-crime Daiya Seto also bowed out of day 2 due to illness. Nevertheless, at the 2018 Kosuke Kitajima Cup there were still several notable performances by ones to watch come Tokyo 2020, including by the Male and Female Swimmers of the Meet, Katsumi Nakamura and Yui Ohashi.

For Nakamura, the Japanese national record holder pulled a speedy double, claiming wins over the 50m and 100m freestyle events In the former, the 23-year-old clocked a solid time of 22.15 to take the victory, while in the latter he notched a head-turning effort of 48.13. That 100m free mark is just .14 off of his own NR of 47.99 set at the Olympic Games in Rio.

The Olympian’s splash n ‘dash performance from this weekend now checks the sprinter in as 8th in the world, just .03 ahead of Japanese teammate Shinri Shioura. In the 100m event, Nakamura is now positioned as #2 in the world, with his 48.13 mark sitting just .21 away from leader Ning Zetao of China.

For her part, World Championship medalist Yui Ohashi nabbed wins across both the 200m IM and 400m IM, clocking world-class times in each, under heavy training. Ohashi took the 400m IM event in a mark of 4:39.44, her season-best while representing the only competitor of the field to earn a time under the 4:40 threshold. The 22-year-old’s time falls within the top 5 outings in the world so far this season:

In the sprint IM, Ohashi logged a winning effort of 2:10.00, keeping her situated as 2nd fastest worldwide, slightly faster than the 2:10.31 she produced last September.

Seto did make an appearance in the Tatsumi International Pool, taking the men’s 400m IM event handily in a time of 4:13.93. Even under heavy training and with an illness that took him out of day 2 competition, Seto’s time is enough to rocket the Olympic medalist into the 3rd slot among the world’s fastest in the event this season.