Kosuke Hagino Cranks Out Another Nasty Double In Madrid

2017 CAMPEONATO OPEN ABSOLUTO COMUNIDAD DE MADRID

After turning heads by scoring two wins on night 1 in Madrid, Japanese powerhouse Kosuke Hagino worked his magic again to bring his individual gold total to 4 at the 2017 Madrid Open. Last night Hagino made his mark in the 100m backstroke and 400m IM, but tonight the 24-year-old raced his way to the top of the podium in both the 200m IM and 200m freestyle, further affirming that he is healthy after September’s elbow surgery.

In the 200m free, a race in which Hagino finaled in Rio, he cranked out a swift 1:47.95 to check-in as the 9th fastest swimmer in the world this season. Behind global leader Park Tae Hwan’s mark of 1:45.16 from last November, the remainder of the world’s current top 10 are bunched together in the 1:47-range, all separated by less than a second. With Hagino’s solid effort in his first meet back, he now enters the mix of names up for potential World Championship title contenders come Budapest, including his countrymate Naito Ehara, who already cranked out a 2017 mark of 1:47.02.

2016-2017 LCM Men 200 FREE

SunCHN
YANG
07/25
1.44.39
2Townley
HAAS
USA1.45.0306/28
3Duncan
SCOTT
GBR1.45.1607/24
3Tae Hwan
PARK
KOR1.45.1611/17
5James
GUY
GBR1.45.1807/24
6Aleksandr
KRASNYKH
RUS1.45.2307/25
7Dominik
KOZMA
HUN1.45.5407/25
8Mikhail
DOVGALYUK
RUS1.45.7407/24
9Danas
RAPSYS
LTU1.45.7508/22
10Kacper
MAJCHRZAK
POL1.46.1908/22
View Top 26»

As far as the 200m IM is concerned, Hagino entered Madrid with the 3rd fastest outing in the world this season with a time of 1:57.13 from the Intercollegiate Championships, his final meet before surgery. Tonight, he stopped the clock just under a second slower, touching in an impressive 1:58.07 to easily win his 4th gold of the meet. Hagino’s fastest result ever sits at the 1:55.07 he notched last April at the Japanese National Championships, proving he’s certainly capable of also vying for the World Championship gold in this race. He already owns an Olympic silver, having finished behind now-retired American, Michael Phelps in Rio.

Hagino is set to take on his final event, the men’s 400m freestyle during the last day of competition tomorrow.

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About Retta Race

Retta Race

Former Masters swimmer and coach Loretta (Retta) thrives on a non-stop but productive schedule. Nowadays, that includes having just 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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