2022 JAPAN OPEN
- Thursday, December 1st – Sunday, December 4th
- Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Centre
- LCM (50m)
- SwimSwam Preview
- Entries (in Japanese)
- Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap
- Start Lists/Results
Day three of the 2022 Japan Open brought the heat, with Olympian Tomoru Honda rocking a new lifetime best in the men’s 200m butterfly.
Racing in the final tonight at Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Centre, 20-year-old Honda fired off a time of 1:52.70. That not only beat the field by nearly 4 solid seconds, but the result came within striking distance of the Japanese national record.
Opening in 54.03 and closing in 58.67, Honda’s time fell just .17 shy of Daiya Seto‘s national record of 1:52.53. Seto put up that mark in January 2020 at that year’s FINA Champions Swim Series.
| Seto’s 1:52.53 | Honda’s 1:52.70 | |
| Opening 100m | 53.36 | 54.03 |
| Closing 100m | 59.17 | 58.67 |
Entering this meet, Honda’s career-quickest 200m fly mark checked in at the 1:53.61 he produced at this summer’s FINA World Championships. There in Budapest, that result rendered him the bronze medalist behind winner Kristof Milak of Hungary (1:50.34, WR) and runner-up Leon Marchand of France (1:53.37). As such, Honda’s time tonight would have beaten Marchand for silver.
History-wise, Honda now ties Hungary’s retired icon Laszlo Cseh as the 4th fastest 200m fly performer in history.
All-Time Men’s LCM 200 Butterfly Performers
- Kristof Milak (HUN), 1:50.34 2022
- Michael Phelps (USA), 1:51.51 2009
- Daiya Seto (JPN), 1:52.53 2020
- Laszlo Cseh (HUN) & Tomoru Honda (JPN), 1;52.70 2008/2022
- Chad Le Clos (RSA), 1:52.96 2012
Honda already re-wrote the history books in a big way by scoring a new World Record in the short course version of the 200m fly. While competing at the Japanese SC Championships, Honda clocked a monster 1:46.85 to become the fastest man in history.
Unfortunately for swim fans, Honda will not be competing at this year’s Short Course Championships in Melbourne, citing the need to focus on his school studies.
It is so funny, how two people are the 4th fastest ever, yet neither is the fastest in their country.
Amazing swim nevertheless but also not too surprising considering his SCM WR.
Can’t wait for the next person to go 1:51 😫
He’s 20 and dropped more than a second over the last 16 months, I think he’ll go 1.51 at some point, probably in Paris.
What it is so fantastic about? He is still more than 2 seconds behind the top swimmer, Milak…
Just because there’s one other guy out there way ahead of everyone else doesn’t make this accomplishment any less insignificant. It’s a time where there have only been three other swimmers faster. You might as well just say Kamminga breaking 58 in the 1breast isn’t impressive since Peaty had been a full second ahead before.
You’re so narrow minded it’s actually funny
He is simply outrageous.
Do we think Marchand will also go 1:52 this season? It’s interesting to see the field make a lot of progress this year. It only took 1:54 mid to medal at last Olympics.
Thumbs up for the name alone
Milak would love someone to push him on the final 50 to finally go a sub 1.50 – 1.52.7 is still too far away.
The race for silver is becoming very interesting, Honda seems to be hitting his peak at the right time, perhaps with Milak taking the event to new heights other people will start swimming to the 1:52s
Congrats to Honda!