Led by Nakamura, Japanese Men Break Nat’l Record in 400 Free Relay

2016 RIO OLYMPIC GAMES

Katsumi Nakamura has had a historical day already, becoming the first Japanese man under 48 seconds in the 100 free.

That swim was done as a lead-off for Japan’s 4×100 free relay, and as the relay concluded, Nakamura had made another mark in the record books– he’d helped the Japanese men break the national record set in 2014.

Splits

  • JAPAN, Asian Games, 2014
  • JAPAN, Olympic Games prelims, 2016
    • Katsumi Nakamura 47.99
    • Shinri Shiroura 48.71
    • Kenji Kobase 48.79
    • Junya Koga 48.68
    • TOTAL: 3:14.17

The two big things that made the difference here for the Japanese: 1) Nakamura popped a 47, but did so leading off this time around rather than anchoring back in 2014, and 2) no swims over 48 seconds. They took a total of 21 hundredths off of the old recod.

Nakamura has improved since 2014, and with three very consistent 48-mid/highs right behind him, the Japanese were able to get it done and lower the national record. They qualified 8th for the 4×100 free relay final tonight, and will look to improve upon their time and seeding in finals.

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SamH
7 years ago

Does Hagino ever do this relay? He has a great freestyle, and his 100 backstroke is sub 53. How bad could his 100 freestyle be? Surely he is capable of splitting 48.0 or faster

murica
Reply to  SamH
7 years ago

He will. These teams/ swimmers have been inspired by Ledecky surely. Real recognize real, and Japan Swimming and Hagino is real.

About Karl Ortegon

Karl Ortegon

Karl Ortegon studied sociology at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, graduating in May of 2018. He began swimming on a club team in first grade and swam four years for Wesleyan.

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