2023 JAPAN INTER-COLLEGE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Thursday, October 31st – Sunday, September 3rd
- Tokyo Aquatics Center
- LCM (50m)
- Day 1 Recap
- Results (in Japanese)
Day two of the 2023 Japan Inter-College Championships saw Olympic silver medalist Tomoru Honda rip a new meet record en route to winning the men’s 200m butterfly.
21-year-old Honda of Nihon University scorched a time of 1:53.76 to get to the wall first, overtaking the previous competition mark of 1:54.06 in the process.
Honda opened in 54.30 and closed in 59.46 to register a time just .10 shy of the 1:53.66 he produced for bronze at this year’s World Championships in Fukuoka. His victory marked Honda’s 4th consecutive win in this event at this competition.
Behind Honda tonight was Genki Terakado, also of Nihon, who notched a silver medal-worthy result of 1:54.80. That time crushed his own previous personal best of 1:55.95 logged at this year’s Japan Championships. With his 1+ second drop, Terakado now becomes Japan’s 10th-fastest performer ever in this 2fly event.
Another head-turning performance came in the men’s 100m breaststroke, with Chukyo University’s Taku Taniguchi hitting a time under the minute barrier.
Taniguchi grabbed gold in a mark of 59.72 after he already broke the 1:00 threshold in the prelims in 59.82. Both times outperformed his previous personal best of 1:00.58 entering this competition, now rendering Taniguch as Japan’s 11th-swiftest performer in history.
Nagisa Ikemoto doubled up on her 100m free victory from last night with a win in the 200m distance this evening. The 2020 Olympian notched a result of 1:58.57 to represent one of two women to get under the 2-minute threshold.
Joining her was Kanon Nagao of Meiji University who posted her first-ever time under 2:00. Prior to these championships, Nagao’s PB rested at the 2:00.63 she produced 2 years ago.
The men’s 200m free saw Konosuke Yanagimoto top the podium, getting the edge over runner-up Taikan Tanaka.
In a reversal of their placements in the 100m free last night, it was Yanagimoto who touched first in the 2free, registering 1:47.46 to Tanaka’s 1:47.89. Rounding out the top 3 was Hiroto Shimizu who bagged bronze in 1:48.18.
World Championships finalist Airi Mitsui won the women’s 200m fly event in a time of 2:07.92 to give her Hosei University squad a gold. Mitsui split 1:01.85/1:06.07 to come within striking distance of the 2:07.15 she put up for 5th place in Fukuoka.
Additional Winners
- Miyu Namba carried her top seed onto the top of the podium in the women’s 800m free, collecting gold in 8:32.96.
- The men’s 1500m free also saw yesterday’s top-seeded swimmer Kazuki Imoto hold on for the win, with Imoto clocking 15:13.69 as the champion.
- Hoshi Moeka beat the pack in the women’s 100m breast, posting 1:08.06 for the victory.
