Hagino & Seto Take On 3 Events, Ohashi Sticks To IM’s For Olympic Trials

2021 JAPAN SWIM (OLYMPIC TRIALS)

• Saturday, April 3rd – Saturday, April 10th
• Tokyo Olympic Aquatics Centre
• LCM (50m)
• Japan’s Sole Olympic-Qualifying Opportunity
• JASF Olympic Selection Policy
• Entries

Olympic Trials season is upon us, with the actual Games now situated fewer than 130 days away. Japan’s sole Olympic-qualifying opportunity rests with the Japan Swim, the nation’s Olympic Trials meet slated for Saturday, April 3rd – Saturday, April 10th.

We’ve already reported that reigning 400m IM Olympic champion Kosuke Hagino has opted out of that event, meaning he will not seek to defend his gold this summer on his home turf. We also revealed Rikako Ikee intends to race an impressive 4 individual events in her first major championships since returning to competition.

However, the official full entry lists have since been published, giving us insight into other key racers’ lineups for early next month.

Remember that Daiya Seto has already qualified for the Olympic Games in the 200m IM and 400m IM by way of his 2019 World Championships gold medals in those events. He has only added the 200m fly and not the 200m free for this meet.

In the past, Seto has been a strong contributor to the men’s 4x200m free relay, including at the 2019 FINA World Championships. Seto anchored in 1:48.02, with the squad placing 9th and qualifying for the Olympic Games.

With the men’s 200m free and 200m fly falling on the same day, Seto confirmed to SwimSwam that he is focusing on individual events.

Likewise, on the women’s side, IM powerhouse Yui Ohashi appears to be sticking to her bread-and-butter events as opposed to sprinkling some butterfly in there. Ohashi has dabbled in both the 100m and 200m fly at domestic meets in the past.

Look for an in-depth preview with key races to watch as we draw even nearer to the Japan Swim, but, in the meantime, take a look at the entries per athlete.

Men

Naito Ehara – 100m/200m/400m free
Takeharu Fujimori – 200m/400m IM
Kosuke Hagino – 200m free, 200m back, 200m IM
Nao Horomura – 100m/200m fly
Kengo Ida – 50m/100m fly
Ryosuke Irie – 50m/100m/200m back
Mizohata Juran – 100m free, 200m IM
Takeshi Kawamoto – 50m/100m fly
Yuki Kobori – 200m free, 100m/200m fly
Junya Koga – 50m/100m backstroke
Yasuhiro Koseki – 50m/100m/200m breaststroke
Katsuo Matsumoto – 100m/200m free, 100m fly
Naoki Mizunuma – 50m/100m fly
Katsumi Nakamura – 50m/100m free
Shoma Sato – 50m/100m/200m breaststroke
Daiya Seto – 200m IM/400m IM, 200m fly
Shinri Shioura – 50m/100m free
Keita Sunama – 50m/100m back
Shogo Takeda – 800m/1500m free
Yuya Tanaka – 50m/100m fly
Honda Tomoru – 100m/200m fly, 400m IM
Ippei Watanabe – 100m/200m breast
Konosuke Yanagimoto – 100m/200m free
Yasuhiro Yoshida – 400m/800m/1500m free

Women

Reona Aoki – 100m/200m breast
Tomomi Aoki – 50m/100m/200m free
Suzuka Hasegawa – 100m/200m fly
Chihiro Igarashi – 50m/100m/200m free
Rikako Ikee – 50m/100m free; 50m/100m fly
Runa Imai – 50m free, 100m/200m breast
Marina Kobayashi – 100m/200m back
Anna Konishi – 50m/100m/200m back
Hiroko Makino – 100m/200m fly
Yui Ohashi – 200m/400m IM
Rika Omoto – 50m/100m free, 200m IM
Natsumi Sakai – 100m free, 100m/200m back
Chinatsu Sato – 400m/800m/1500m free
Sakiko Shimizu – 200m breast, 400m IM
Rio Shirai – 100m/200m free, 100m/200m back
Ai Soma – 50m free, 50m/100m fly
Satomi Suzuki – 50m/100m/200m breast
Miho Teramura – 50m/100m breast, 200m IM
Kanako Watanabe – 50m/100m/200m breast