Daiya Seto Continues Best Time Siege With 51.89 100 Fly

2020 KOSUKE KITAJIMA CUP

• Friday, January 24th – Sunday, January 26th
• Tatsumi International Swimming Centre, Tokyo, Japan
• 50m (LCM)
• Meet Information
• SwimSwam Preview
• Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap
• Results

On top of a powerful men’s 200m breast performance by 18-year-old Shoma Sato to shut former World Record holder Ippei Watanabe out of the gold, there were several other racers who made a statement to close out the 2020 Kosuke Kitajima Cup.

As we reported, Samo crushed his previous 200m breast lifetime best of 2:09.21 to punch a monster effort of 2:07.58, inserting himself into the mix of possible Japanese swimmers ready to represent the nation at a home-based Olympics this summer. Watanabe touched just shy of the teen, registering 2:07.86. You can read more about that battle here.

On-fire Daiya Seto, who already became the 5th fastest 400m IM performer in history with his eye-popping 4:06.09 last night, registered a swift new lifetime best in the 100m fly this evening.

Entering this 3-day affair, Seto owned a 1fly personal best of 51.94, a mark he registered at the 2019 Sydney Open in May. That outing represented the 25-year-old’s first venture under the 52-second barrier.

Tonight, Seto managed to shave another .05 off of that PB to score a winning time of 51.89. Splitting 24.30/27.59, Seto’s time tonight set a new meet record, clipping the 52.71 on the books.

Runner-up behind Seto this evening was Naoki Mizunuma, who also got under both the 52-second mark as well as the previous meet record with a time of 51.97.

Seto sat out the men’s 200m IM today, as did Olympic bronze medalist in the event, Kosuke Hagino. Instead, it was Keita Sunama turn to top the podium, with the backstroking ace putting up a time of 1:58.89 to represent one of two swimmers under 2:00.

Joining him was Ikari Yuki, who secured silver in 1:59.38.

Seto owns the fastest time in the world this season for the 200m IM, holding a 1:55.55 from just last week’s FINA Champions Series in Beijing. However, Sunama now ties American Ryan Lochte to rank 9th in the world since September 2019.

The women’s 200m IM saw powerhouse swimmer Yui Ohashi produce a winning effort of 2:10.35 to pair with her 200m fly and 400m IM victories earlier in the meet. Ohashi sits atop the world rankings this season, with her 2:08.43 performance notched in November at that month’s Tokyo Open.

Behind Ohashi tonight was versatile 22-year-old Rika Omoto who touched in 2:10.88 for silver.

Reona Aoki swept the women’s 100m/200m breaststroke events with her victory in the latter this evening. Her time now checks-in as the 8th fastest mark in the world this season. Yu Jingyao is the only Asian swimmer ranked higher, with the Chinese athlete having clocked a time of 2:23.36 at the Military World Games in October.

Of note, Seto and Ohashi were named swimmers of the meet for their impressive feats over the course of this 2020 Kosuke Kitajima Cup.

Additional Winners:

• Takeda Syogo reaped gold in the men’s 1500m, registering a winning effort of 15:02.85 to top the podium by over 17 seconds.
• The women’s 50m fly saw Aya Sato get it done for gold in 25.38.
• Yesterday’s 100 freestyle winner Shinri Shioura doubled up on sprints to take the men’s 50m free in 21.97, the only swimmer under 22 tonight. That scored a new meet record, dipping under the previous 22.05 mark.