ASIA: Olympic Champ Kosuke Hagino Struggles in 400 IM Final

2017 FINA WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Though many had high hopes for the 2016 Olympic 400 IM champion, Japan’s Kosuke Hagino finished 6th in tonight’s 400 IM final at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Despite picking up silver with a solid performance in the 200 IM final, he was well off the mark here with a 4:12.65. Japan still landed on the podium, however, as fellow Olympic medalist Daiya Seto took 3rd in 4:09.14.

Hagino underwent surgery this past September to correct an elbow injury he sustained at a training camp in June of 2015. That injury caused him to miss the 2015 World Championships in Kazan and kept him out of competition until January 2016. After his surgery, Hagino had to take a month off to fully recover, which may have hindered his training and performance here at Worlds. He swam 3 individual events in Budapest: the 200 IM, 200 back, and 400 IM. His only medal came from the 200 IM, where he took silver behind the USA’s Chase Kalisz with a 1:56.01.

Hagino’s time in the 200 IM was right at his season best, as he’d previously put up a 1:56.01 at the 2017 Japan Swim. His 400 IM, however, was quite a bit off his season best, which stands at a 4:10.45 done at that same meet. He was also shy of his season best 1:56.39 in the 200 back. In prelims, he managed a 1:57.97, but he slowed down almost a full second with a 1:58.72 in the semis and failed to advance to the final.

Another top Asian male swimmer, Korea’s Park Tae Hwan, also had a somewhat disappointing performance. Park almost made it to the podium with a 3:44.38 in the 400 free, placing 4th in the final and tying his season best from the Arena Pro Swim Series stop in Atlanta. In the 200 free, however, he faded to 8th in the final with a 1:47.11, finishing almost 2 full seconds off the 1:45.16 from the Asian Swimming Championships in November. He put up a 14:59.44 in prelims of the 1500 free, but just missed advancing to the final by one spot with a 9th place finish.

DAY 8 RECORDS – ASIA:

FINAL SWIMMING MEDAL TABLE – ASIA:

Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
China 3 2 4 9
Japan 0 4 3 7
Singapore 0 0 1 1

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About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona (2013-2015) and the University of Florida (2011-2013). While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She's also a high school graduate of The …

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