2018 Japan Swim Day 3 Prelims: Seto Pulls 2IM/2Fly Double

2018 JAPAN SWIM (JAPANESE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS)

• Tuesday, April 3rd – Sunday, April 8th
• Tatsumi International Swim Centre, Tokyo, Japan
• LCM
• Selection meet for Asian Games, Pan Pacific Championships, Jr. Pan Pacific Championships & Youth Olympics
• Meet Site
• SwimSwam Preview
• Start Lists
• Live Results
• Day 1 Prelims
• Day 1 Finals
• Day 2 Prelims
• Day 2 Finals

Moving on to day 3 of the 2018 Japan Swim, which serves as 1 of 2 qualifying meets for this summer’s Pan Pacific Championships, Sakiko Shimizu staked her claim on the women’s 200m IM event. Clocking a morning swim of 2:13.69, Shimizu narrowly out-performed national record holder Yui Ohashi, who notched the 3rd seed in 2:14.23. In the 2nd position is Miho Teramura, who touched in 2:14.00.

Ohashi has been as fast as 2:10.00 this season, so look for the 22-year-old World Championships silver medalist to up her game when it counts tonight in the semi-final.

After earning silver in the men’s 400m freestyle, Kosuke Hagino decided to drop the 200m free  in order to focus entirely on his specialty 200m and 400m IM events. The extra rest let him steal the top seed from this morning’s prelims in a time of 2:00.15, with Hiroya Yamada and Takeharu Fujimori right behind in respective morning swims of 2:00.67 and 2:00.83.

Of note in the 200m IM prelims, however, was the fact that soon-to-be new dad Daiya Seto fell out of the top 8 and into the 2nd semi-final. Still with a shot of making the finals, Seto has selected to play it quiet and finish 10th this morning in a pedestrian 2:01.62. Knowing he has the 200m butterfly also this session, the ‘conserve energy’ approach will most likely prove to be a smart one.

Also playing it safe to conserve energy this morning was 17-year-old Rikako Ikee. After smashing a new national record in the 100m butterfly already at these championships, Ikee settled for the 10th fastest time of the morning in the women’s 50m freestyle, clocking 26.08 with ease.

Under the 26-second mark already today was top seed Mayuka Yamamoto and Sayuki Oochi, who led the way with morning swims of 25.63 and 25.71, respectively. Also under the 26 second threshold this morning was 3rd seed Yui Yamane (25.85), Aya Satou (25.88), Kanae Smuioka (25.88), Mayuko Mori (25.92) and Kaho Okano (25.95). However, based on historic performances over the past couple of years, this 50m freestyle will be Ikee against the clock.

The men’s 50m freestyle was also a very measured, yet close prelim, with Kousuke Matsui leading the way in 22.06, a new personal best. Right behind is newly-minted national record holder Katsumi Nakamura, who cranked out a mighty 21.87 earlier this year to make him the man to beat.

Former national record holder Shinri Shioura is also in the hunt, producing a solid 22.24 to claim the 3rd seed out of the morning.

Yesterday’s 100m backstroke silver medalist, 30-year-old Junya Koga, claimed the top seed in the men’s back splash n’ dash, stopping the clock at 24.84. His morning swim was the only sub-25 second time of the field and falls .6 shy of the national record, which he may be going after during tonight’s final.

Another medalist, Yasuhiro Koseki who took gold in the 100m breaststroke, was this morning’s fastest 50m breaststroker. He notched an AM time of 27.29, less than a tenth of a second ahead of Masaki Niiyama‘s 2nd seeded effort of 27.37. 200m breaststroke world record holder and bronze medalist in the 100m distance, Ippei Watanabe, scratched this 50m sprint.

In Seto’s 2nd event, the men’s 200m butterfly, his time of 1:57.28 rendered him 8th and safely into tonight’s semi-final. The top time, however, went to Yuya Yajima, the 2015 World University Games silver medalist who touched the wall in a super swift 1:55.05, a new personal best. That time also sits almost a solid second over 2nd seed Masayuki Umemoto, who clocked 1:56.02.

Olympic silver medalist Masato Sakai is lurking as the 4th seed, cruising his way to a mark of 1:56.62 to set himself up nicely for tonight’s semi-final.