Japan’s 16-Yr-Old Shin Ohashi Does It Again, Blasts 58.94 WJR

79th KINKI HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Sunday, July 20th – Tuesday, July 22nd
• Kinki High School, Japan
• LCM (50m)
• Results

The third World Junior Record has fallen at the 79th Kinki High School Swimming Championships, giving us a glimpse into the future of Japanese youth gearing up to break into the senior ranks.

At this domestic competition, we already saw 16-year-old Yumeki Kojima blast a lifetime best of 4:09.38 to score a new World Junior Record in the 400m IM.

Then, fellow 16-year-old Shin Ohashi fired off a monster personal best and new World Junior Record of 2:06.91 in the 200m breaststroke.

Ohashi was back at it, crushing a new World Junior Record of 58.94 in the 100m breaststroke.

World Junior Championships-bound Ohashi dipped under the 59-second barrier for the first time in his young career.

Tonight, Ohashi beat the field by 3 seconds en route to establishing the new WJR. The former benchmark stood at the 59.01 Olympic champion Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy put on the books at the 2017 World Junior Championships.

Here, Ohashi opened in a head-turning 27.33 and closed in 31.61 to rip the new standard.

Split Comparison

Ohashi’s performance keeps him ranked 3rd among historical Japanese performers; however, he’s creeping up on Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima‘s PB of 58.90

Top 5 Japanese Men’s LCM 100 Breaststroke Performers All-Time

1. Yasuhiro Koseki – 58.78, 2018
2. Kosuke Kitajima – 58.90, 2012
3. Shin Ohashi – 58.94, 2025
4. Shoa Sato – 59.18, 2021
5. Yamato Fukasawa – 59.24, 2025

Additionally, Ohashi now ranks #2 in the world on the season.

Entering this competition, the teen’s lifetime best sat at the 59.03 he notched just last month at the Osaka High School Championships. That already rendered the teen Japan’s 3rd-fastest performer of all time.

Prior to that outing, Ohashi’s season-best and lifetime best checked in at the 59.88 logged at the Canet stop of the 2025 Mare Nostrum Tour. That took place at the end of May, so in a matter of weeks, Ohashi found a way to drop nearly a second.

For additional perspective, the U.S. National Age Group Record for 15-16-year-old boys is represented by the 1:00.17 Josh Matheny logged in 2019. Ohashi is well beneath that record with tonight’s performance.

Furthermore, Ohashi’s 58.94 would have garnered the gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games, beating Martinenghi’s podium-topping 59.03 from the relatively ‘slow’ final in Paris.

While the Japanese men historically have had major success in the 200m breaststroke, including 3 former world record holders, the nation hasn’t had a consistently solid 100m breastroker since the days of Olympic champion Kitajima and later Pan Pacific Championships gold medalist Yasuhiro Koseki.

Ohashi’s rapid emergence is a positive sign for Japan, both from an individual perspective as well as from a medley relay standpoint.

As we reported, Ohashi did not make the nation’s roster for Singapore but will be present at the World Junior Championships. At this year’s Japan World Championship Trials, Ohashi turned in a mark of 1:00.64 to take the B-Final.