Japan’s Daiya Seto Pulls Off Tough 2Fly/2IM Double On Night 4

2019 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Japan’s Olympic medalist Daiya Seto took on the tough double of the men’s 200m fly and 200m IM tonight and came away with one of the best possible outcomes.

In the former, the 25-year-old reaped silver, establishing a new personal best time of 1:53.86. That marked Seto’s first time ever under the 1:54 threshold and was still a solid performance, even against Hungarian Kristof Milak‘s otherworldly 1:50.73.

Seto’s time tonight checks him in as the 12th fastest 200m fly performer in history.

Seto was back in the water shortly after to contest the 200m IM, an event in which he currently ranked 4th in the world heading into these Championships. After the semi-finals, Seto currently sits 3rd in a relaxed-looking time of 1:57.10. His lifetime best is represented by the 1:56.69 he produced at the Japan Swim in April.

The man has performed this same double at the 2017 edition of these Championships, but in Budapest, he settled for bronze in the 200m fly (1:54.21) and landed off the podium in the 200m IM (1:56.97 for 5th). As such, with Tokyo qualification on the line, Seto will have even more incentive to beat out the likes of America’s Chase Kalisz and Swiss ace Jeremy Desplanches in tomorrow night’s final.

Aditional Asian Notes:

  • China’s Sun Yang, the man who has won both the 200m and 400m freestyle races here, finished off the podium in 6th in the 800m free (7:45.01).
  • The women’s 200m free saw Yang Junxuan take 5th place, but lower her newly-minted World Junior Record of 1:55.43.
  • Both Katsumi Nakamura of Japan and Fu Yuanhui of China missed advancing in their respective 100m free and 50m back events. Nakamura notched a time of 48.45 for 10th, while Fu hit 27.84 for 9th.
  • Wang Shun of China will be joining Seto in tomorrow night’s 200m IM final, claiming the 8th seed in 1:57.98.

Asian Swimming Medal Table Through Day 4:

RANK NATION GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL
3  China 3 1 2 6
9  Japan 0 2 0 2

 

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swimmerswammer
5 years ago

His lifetime best is 1:56.82, not 1:56.69.

He could be dangerous in the 400 IM. Looks to be in lifetime best form across the board here and he’s looked extra potent for the 4 IM all season.

Big Waves
5 years ago

But like Seto… I felt sorry for that little 5’9 guy sandwiched by two 6’3 giants. RESPECT for Seto as well. 1:53 is a good time for him.

Reid
Reply to  Big Waves
5 years ago

And the award for most condescending SwimSwam comment goes to…

tea rex
5 years ago

Show some love for Siobhan Haughey in the Asia roundup.

Superfan
5 years ago

That was certainly very impressive! I think Seto and Larkin have more in them…Seto coming off the 2fly and Mitch knowing he had the relay coming up quickly! 2im should be a great race!

VGM
5 years ago

Seto for the win!!!!!

GoGophers
5 years ago

Exactly, 1:53 200 fly then a 1:57 200 IM shortly after… dudes a serious gold contender in both IM

About Retta Race

Former Masters swimmer and coach Loretta (Retta) thrives on a non-stop but productive schedule. Nowadays, that includes having earned her MBA while working full-time in IT while owning French 75 Boutique while also providing swimming insight for BBC.

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