Dolfin Swim of the Week: Sato’s 2:07.02 in 200 Breast

Disclaimer: Dolfin 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  Dolfin Swim 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.

Japan has been a dominant world force in the men’s 200 breaststroke, and 19-year-old Shoma Sato is continuing to build that legacy.

Japanese swimmers now make up 4 of the top 7 performers of all-time in the 200 long course meter breast, along with 5 of the top 12 swims in history. The latest is Sato’s 2:07.02, hit this week at the Japan Student Swimming Championships.

That time was a half-second drop for Sato, and checks him in as the 5th-fastest man of all-time in the event. Sato is on the cusp of becoming just the fourth man ever to break 2:07 in the event. Outside of Russia’s Anton Chupkov, who has been 2:06 on four separate occasions, only Ippei Watanabe (twice) and Matthew Wilson (twice) have been 2:06s in their careers.

The top performers and performances of all-time, per USA Swimming’s database:

Top Performers All-Time – Men’s 200 Breast

1. Anton Chupkov (RUS) – 2:06.12
2. Ippei Watanabe (JPN) / Matthew Wilson (AUS) – 2:06.67
3. —
4. Akihiro Yamaguchi (JPN) – 2:07.01
5. Shoma Sato (JPN) – 2:07.02
6. Josh Prenot (USA) – 2:07.17
7. Yasuhiro Koseki (JPN) – 2:07.18
8. Daniel Gyurta (HUN) – 2:07.23
9. Zac Stubblety-Cook (AUS) – 2:07.28
10. Ross Murdoch (GBR) – 2:07.30

Top Performances All-Time – Men’s 200 Breast

1. Anton Chupkov (RUS) – 2:06.12
2. Ippei Watanabe (JPN) / Matthew Wilson (AUS) – 2:06.67
3. —
4. Matthew Wilson (AUS) – 2:06.68
5. Ippei Watanabe (JPN) – 2:06.73
6. Anton Chupkov (RUS) – 2:06.80
7. Anton Chupkov (RUS) – 2:06.83
8. Anton Chupkov (RUS) – 2:06.96
9. Anton Chupkov (RUS) – 2:07.00
10. Akihiro Yamaguchi (JPN) – 2:07.01
11. Ippei Watanabe (JPN) / Shoma Sato (JPN) – 2:07.02

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