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Disclaimer: Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The Swim of the Week is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.
Japanese swimmer Kazushi Imafuku made a name for himself on the international stage this past summer at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships, and that’s continued into the fall at the 2024 World Cup.
Just 17, Imafuku won gold in dominant fashion on Friday in the men’s 1500 freestyle during the series’ final leg in Singapore, producing a time of 14:36.32 to clear the next-fastest swimmer by nearly seven seconds.
The performance from Imafuku comes on the heels of his 7:40.77 clocking in the 800 free last week, which earned him a third-place finish at the second stop of the series in Incheon.
Impressively, his victory in the 1500 free in Singapore saw him turn in 7:43.83 at the 800, just over three seconds back of his newly-minted 800 best time, before holding form the rest of the way to claim victory.
Finishing as the runner-up in the event was fellow Japanese swimmer Kaito Tsujimori, who at 18, clocked 14:43.14. American Charlie Clark, who won the 1500 at the first stop of the series in Shanghai, went 14:43.45 for third.
Prior to this swim, Imafuku’s previous best time in SCM stood at 14:54.00, which he set in March 2023 to break the Japanese High School Record.
Although all-time junior rankings for the SCM 1500 free aren’t crystal clear, Imafuku would rank #8 all-time on the 18 & under European list, with World Junior Gregorio Paltrinieri (14:27.78) the only swimmer to dip under 14:30 as a junior.
Imafuku also becomes the ninth-fastest Asian of all-time and #4 in Japanese history.
He’ll be eligible to continue climbing the junior rankings for 18 more months, having only turned 17 this past May.
After turning heads with his 14:54 SCM clocking in 2023, Imafuku’s progress continued into 2024, winning the 1500 free at the Japanese Olympic Trials in a LCM time of 15:04.36, and following that up by storming his way to Junior Pan Pac gold a few months later in 14:59.97, dipping under the elusive 15:00 barrier.
Imafuku also won silver in the 800 free (7:53.99) at Junior Pan Pacs, and showed off his range by taking fourth in the 400 free (3:52.71), fifth in the 400 IM (4:24.99) and 10th in the 200 fly (2:01.91).
At the World Cup, he was 12th in the 400 free (3:46.84) and ninth in the 200 fly (2:00.67) last week in Incheon in addition to his swim in the 800 free, and so far in Singapore, he’s placed 19th in the 400 free (3:49.94) to go along with his swim in the 1500. He’s entered in the 400 IM on Saturday.
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