The 2021 Japan Open is scheduled for February 4th-7th at the Tokyo Aquatics Center. The competition represents just one of several Japanese preparation meets taking place in the first quarter of 2021 giving racers a chance to shake off their competition cobwebs as they hone in on April’s Olympic Trials of the Japan Swim.
You can refresh yourself on the Q1 Japanese racing schedule for 2021 here.
Making the Japan Open even more exciting is the fact that on-suspension Daiya Seto is reportedly considering making his competitive return to swimming at this annual elite event.
26-year-old Seto started out this year primed to do major damage at a home-based Olympics. The man already qualified for the Games via his 200m IM and 400m IM double gold last year in Gwangju, but he had his sights set on the 200m fly and at least relay qualification in the 200m free.
Seto kicked off the 2020 calendar year with a big-time Asian Record in the 200m fly, ripping a lifetime best of 1:52.53. The time slotted him as the 3rd fastest performer of all-time. However, Seto ran into out-of-the-pool troubles, which rendered him booted off the JPN national team and out of meets for the remainder of the year. This included the ISL.
If Seto indeed is targeting February’s Japan Swim as his first competition back, that would mean he would not be present at any of the January meets including the Hamana Bay LC Met, Tokyo Metro New Year’s meet or the Kosuke Kitajima Cup.
Although she has raced multiple times in the latter half of 2021, leukemia survivor Rikako Ikee is also eyeing her 2021 calendar year debut. As reported by The Japan Times this week, 20-year-old Ikee is most likely going to be racing at the Tokyo Metro’s New Year’s meet in early January. She is set to race the 100m free, which is would be her longest event since returning to competition after hospital release.
Seto has the most efficient turns in swimming. Besides the start he will beat everyone off every turn like in his scm 400 Im WR. Also in 2014 when hagino was faster than him in the LCM 400 IM seto still destroyed him in the SCM 400 IM by alot
Has he ever issued public apology? One would think that a logical place to start especially in Japan.
he did
https://www.tokyoreporter.com/japan-news/olympic-swimmer-daiya-seto-apologizes-after-emergence-of-affair/
Hope he has been able to use the ban as motivation rather than letting it derail him. There is also the matter of the personal impact of his actions and public shame that may take a toll. I just hope he is still training and will be ready next year. I actually think he could have gone 4:04 and maybe even got close to Phelps’ record this year.
I think he could have gone 4:05, but to drop that much from 4:06.09 to go 4:04 low?
Yeah I agree actually. I was hoping for 4:04.99 tbh.
Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in what feels like a long long time
We’ll be seeing it a lot next year!
Has he been able to train?
Only in spasms.
What does it mean?