Top 12 Swimmers Separated by 1 Second in Men’s 100 Fly at Japan Trials

2021 JAPAN SWIM (OLYMPIC TRIALS)

Day 6 of the Japan Swim Olympic Trials is now underway, following the prelims session of the women’s 800 freestyle, men’s 100 butterfly, and women’s 200 backstroke. In our preview, we knew the men’s 100 fly was going to be an exciting battle as Japan has 4 swimmers within the top 15 fastest 100 butterfliers in the world this season. That battle clearly began this morning, with the top 12 swimmers touching the wall within 1 second of each other.

Women’s 800 Freestyle

Top 3 Qualifiers:

  1. Miyu Namba – 8:33.74
  2. Waka Kobori – 8:34.84
  3. Chinatsu Sato – 8:37.14

Chinatsu Sato was right behind World Junior Championships silver medalist Miyu Namba at the halfway point, flipping at 4:16.75 to 17-year-old Namba’s 4:15.44. Kobori was 3 seconds behind Sato. Sato snagged 2nd in the 1500 freestyle final on Tuesday.

Kobori’s season-best time of 8:27.08 from the 2021 Japan Open ranks her #9 in the world this season. Kobori and Sato placed 1-3 in this event at the 2019 World University Games.

2020-2021 LCM Women 800 Free

KatieUSA
Ledecky
07/31
8:12.57
2Ariarne
Titmus
AUS8:13.8307/31
3Katie
Grimes
USA8:17.0507/29
4Simona
Quadarella
ITA8:17.3207/29
5Sarah
Koehler
GER8:17.3307/29
6Anastasia
KIRPICHNIKOVA
RUS8:18.7707/29
7Kiah
Melverton
AUS8:19.0506/17
8Wang
Jianjiahe
CHN8:19.1007/26
9Haley
Anderson
USA8:20.5106/19
10Isabel
Gose
GER8:21.7907/29
View Top 26»

Men’s 100 Butterfly

Top 3 Qualifiers:

  1. Naoki Mizunuma – 51.92
  2. Takeshi Kawamoto – 52.08
  3. Yuya Tanaka – 52.17

Naoki Mizunuma, whose season best time of 51.34 is the 5th fastest 100 butterfly in the world this season, claimed the top semifinals spot with a time of 51.92. Close behind were ISL standout Takeshi Kawamoto and Yuya Tanaka who touched the wall at 52.08 and 52.17, respectively.  Kawamoto took out the first 50  a whole .52 faster than Mizunuma, showing that Mizunuma really pushed the last 50 meters.

The entire prelims event was a close race, with the top 12 men finishing within 1 second of each other. We are sure to see equally exciting battles in both the semifinals and finals. On the edge of the semifinals cutoff is Tomoru Honda, ranked 16th with a time of 53.13.

2020-2021 LCM Men 100 Fly

2Kristof
Milak
HUN49.6807/31
3Matthew
Temple
AUS50.4506/17
4Noe
Ponti
SUI50.7407/31
5Michael
Andrew
USA50.8005/14
6Mehdy
Metella
FRA50.8706/20
7Andrei
Minakov
RUS50.8807/31
8Jakub
Majerski
POL50.9207/31
9Josif
Miladinov
BUL50.9305/23
10James
Guy
GBR50.9606/18
11Takeshi
Kawamoto
JPN51.0004/09
12Naoki
Mizunuma
JPN51.0304/09
13Luis
Martinez
GUA51.0907/27
14Tom
Shields
USA51.1906/19
15Shaine
Casas
USA51.2206/25
16Federico
Burdisso
ITA51.3905/23
17Joshua
Liendo
CAN51.4006/19
17Mikhail
Vekovishchev
RUS51.4004/09
19Szebasztian
Szabo
HUN51.4505/23
20Katsuo
Matsumoto
JPN51.4702/07
21Hubert
Kos
HUN51.5203/26
22Nyls
Korstanje
NED51.5407/29
22Coleman
Stewart
USA51.5406/18
24Danny
Kovac
USA51.6106/18
25Santo
Condorelli
ITA51.6206/25
View Top 26»

Women’s 200 Backstroke

Top 3 Qualifiers:

  1. Marina Furubayashi – 2:11.71
  2. Anna Konishi – 2:12.20
  3. Sayaka Akase – 2:12.93

Anna Konishi had a half-a-second lead over Marina Furubayashi at the 100 meter mark, but that was not enough to fend off the 2021 Japan Open Champion. Furubayashi broke 2:10:00 in December with a time  of 2:09.95 which ranks her #22 in the world this season. Konishi is currently ranked #22 with her season best time of 2:10.73.

Natsumi Sakai, the highest-ranked Japanese woman in the event this season at#12 in the world finished in 7th place with a time of 2:14.32. Rio Shirai, ranked #17 in the world this year, DNS’d the race.

2020-2021 LCM Women 200 Back

KayleeAUS
McKeown
06/17
2:04.28
2Kylie
Masse
CAN2:05.4207/31
3Margherita
Panziera
ITA2:05.5603/31
4Rhyan
White
USA2:05.7306/19
5Emily
Seebohm
AUS2:06.1707/31
6Phoebe
Bacon
USA2:06.4007/31
7Regan
Smith
USA2:06.7906/19
8Isabelle
Stadden
USA2:07.2805/21
9Kathleen
Baker
USA2:07.5403/05
10Cassie
Wild
GBR2:07.7405/23
11Minna
Atherton
AUS2:07.8612/15
12Katalin
Burian
HUN2:07.8705/23
13Peng
Xuwei
CHN2:08.0101/03
14Kathleen
Dawson
GBR2:08.1404/17
15Lena
Grabowski
AUT2:08.1905/23
16Taylor
Ruck
CAN2:08.2407/31
17Liu
Yaxin
CHN2:08.2605/07
18JoJo
Ramey
USA2:08.9006/18
19Lisa
Bratton
USA2:09.0306/19
20Wang
Jiayin
CHN2:09.2209/30
21Natsumi
Sakai
JPN2:09.3212/06
22Africa
Zamorano
ESP2:09.3512/06
View Top 26»

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About Annika Johnson

Annika Johnson

Annika came into the sport competitively at age eight, following in the footsteps of her twin sister and older brother. The sibling rivalry was further fueled when all three began focusing on distance freestyle, forcing the family to buy two lap counters. Annika is a three-time Futures finalist in the 200 …

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