arena Swim of the Week: Shin Ohashi Drops 2:10.88 200 BR At 15, Nears Gyurta For #1 All-Time

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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.

Amidst a number of standout performances at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships, one that may have slipped under the radar was what Shin Ohashi did in the boys’ 200 breaststroke.

Ohashi’s swim was somewhat overshadowed by the boys’ 1500 freestyle, which was one event later and saw his Japanese countryman Kazushi Imafuku unleash arguably the swim of the meet, breaking 15:00 and winning gold in a tantalizing race with American Luke Ellis.

Ohashi’s swim also came directly after the girls’ 200 breast, where his Japanese teammate Kotomi Kato dismantled the field and set a new meet record in 2:24.73.

But in the boys’ 200 breast, Ohashi had a swim that was just as impressive as those other two. The 15-year-old came into Junior Pan Pacs with some serious pedigree, having broken the Japanese Junior High School Record in March in a time of 2:11.13, making him the second-fastest 15-year-old of all-time.

At Junior Pan Pacs, Ohashi took the final out by storm. He had already won gold in the 100 breast, and established himself as the swimmer to beat in the 200 breast prelims, clocking 2:12.88.

In the final, he was out like a rocket, turning in 1:02.30 at the 100, a time that would’ve been 4th in the 100 breast final (or would’ve won bronze if we take out Ohashi himself).

He maintained his lead on the third 50, and despite giving back some time coming home, still finished more than a second clear of runner-up Josh Bey in a time of 2:10.88, making him the second 15-year-old in history to break 2:11.

🏊‍♂️ Junior Pan Pacific (50M) :

Ohashi Shin 🇯🇵 (15 ans) s’est imposé sur 200m brasse en réalisant un temps de 2:10.88.

L’école japonais nous a encore sorti un excellent brasseur ! #Natation pic.twitter.com/9IFSXvSc6o

— MR.CARTER (@NelsonCarterJr) August 24, 2024

The only swimmer who has been faster than Ohashi at the age of 15 is Hungarian Daniel Gyurta, who went 2:10.75 in the semis at the 2004 Olympics before winning silver in the final in 2:10.80.

All-Time Performers, 15-Year-Old Boys’ 200 Breaststroke (LCM)

1. Daniel Gyurta (HUN), 2:10.75 – 2004 Olympic Games
2. Shin Ohashi (JPN), 2:10.88 – 2024 Junior Pan Pacs
3. Reece Whitley (USA), 2:11.30 – 2015 U.S. Summer Nationals
4. Akihiro Yamaguchi (JPN), 2:12.03 – 2010 Japan Invite
5. Josh Matheny (USA), 2:12.69 – 2018 Summer Junior Nats

For context, Ohashi would rank #2 in the boys’ 15-16 age group in the U.S., only trailing Josh Matheny‘s 2:09.40 NAG record set in 2019.

Ohashi’s time in the heats of the 100 breast of 1:00.95 actually moved him to #1 all-time for 15-year-olds, overtaking American Reece Whitley (1:01.00).

Ohashi went on to win the final in 1:01.08, and also threw down a blistering 1:00.15 split on the boys’ medley relay that finished 4th. He added a 1:00.52 split on the bronze medal winning mixed relay.

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