Shuya Matsumoto Clocks 21.64 50 Free Asian Record At Domestic Japanese Meet

2025 SHIZUOKA CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Saturday, July 26th & Sunday, July 27th
• Shizuoka Prefecture Fuji Swimming Pool
• LCM (50m)
• Results

While the 2025 World Championships were busy kicking off in Singapore, a domestic meet wrapped up in Japan with a continental record biting the dust.

The two-day Shizuoka Prefecture Championships concluded this evening, with 25-year-old Shuya Matsumoto putting on a show in the men’s 50m freestyle.

Matsumoto, who celebrated his birthday in May, stopped the clock at a time of 21.64.

That represented not only a new lifetime best, but also a new national and Asian continental benchmark.

Matsumoto’s effort overtook the former Japanese record and Asian record of 21.67 Olympian Shinri Shioura put on the books at the 2019 Japanese Championships.

Entering this competition, Matsumoto’s lifetime best rested at the 21.97 he notched just earlier this month at the Aichi Prefectural Championships. That former mark rendered him Japan’s 4th-swiftest performer of all time.

However, tonight’s performance hacked .33 off that result to render him the fastest Japanese and Asian swimmer in history.

The Himawari Network athlete now ranks within the top 50 men’s 50m freestyle performers of all time and also checks in as the 8th-quickest man in the world on the season.