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
- SwimSwam Preview
- Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/Day 3 Recap/Day 4 Recap
- Live Results
- Live Stream (Prelims Only)
While competing on night 5 of the 2021 Japan Swim, the meet which represents the nation’s sole Olympic-qualifying competition, Shui Kurokawa took down the men’s 800m free national record.
Stopping the clock in a time of 7:49.55, Kurokawa overtook the previous Japanese standard by exactly .10, surpassing Olympian Takeshi Matsuda’s mark of 7:49.65 set back in 2009.
However, this men’s 800m free is representative of how stiff the JASF-dictated Olympic qualification standards are, as a national record-setting swim still didn’t make the squad. Kurokawa needed at least 7:48.12 to be named to the Japanese Olympic roster, meaning the swimmer fell well over a second outside of that threshold.
Splits for the 19-year-old are below, with Kurokawa representing the only racer of the final to get under 7:50.
Kurokawa’s time here now checks the Japanese freestyler in among the world’s best this season, ranked 4th:
2020-2021 LCM Men 800 Free
Romanchuk
7:41.28
| 2 | Florian Wellbrock | GER | 7:41.77 | 07/27 |
| 3 | Bobby Finke | USA | 7:41.87 | 07/27 |
| 4 | Gregorio Paltrinieri | ITA | 7:41.96 | 04/01 |
| 5 | Jack McLoughlin | AUS | 7:42.51 | 06/14 |
This type of selection process really spoils the Olympics for me. Someone slower than him will now probably sneak into the final while this guy sits at home.
I know there are a couple of strong contenders in the 800 and it is unlikely that anyone outside of those gets a medal but 7:48 made the final in Gwanju. This guy should be there.
Imagine being told you’re not good enough for the Olympic team when you broke a supersuited National record. What a shame
Setting the time standard so that only the top 2 swimmers in the world so far this year would qualify seems a little stringent
what a shame
I do not understand having a qualifying time faster than the FINA A cut for a home games. You do not need to send athletes anywhere far, the home nation can rally around a competitor in each event & this man is ranked 4th in the world!