2024 Japan Olympic Trials
The first qualifying session for the 2024 Japan Olympic Trials is scheduled. Heats for the women's 100m butterfly, men's 100m breaststroke, women's 400m freestyle, men's 400m freestyle and men's 50m backstroke were all held, and some fast markers have already been thrown.
17 years old Mizuki Hirai In the women's 100 fly, she significantly improved her personal best time and led the prelims with a time of 57.23 seconds. Her best time to date is 58.03 seconds, which she set at the Japan Open in December. Hirai won the bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in September with a time of 58.35 seconds. Hirai's qualifying swim was also lower than the Japan Swimming Federation's Paris qualifying time of 57.34 seconds.
Rikako Ikee This morning he also broke the 58 second mark, achieving a respectable result of 57.54. Ikee's time is the fastest since returning to competition following a battle with leukemia, and is good news for the sprinter who is trained by Ikee. michael ball In Australia. Ikee is the Japanese record holder in this event, with a best time of 56.08 seconds set en route to gold at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.
Ikee competed at the Victorian Open Championship in Australia last month and clipped. emma mckeon On his way to winning the 50 fly (25.84). She also posted times of 25.51 in the 50 free, 55.45 in the 100 free and 58.40 in the 100 fly. Her time this morning is nearly a second faster than her 100 fly last month.
Ai SomaAfter the finals, he would be one of the top candidates, but he advanced to the semifinals with a score of 57.84 and placed third. She has her best time of 57.42 recorded at her 2023 U.S. Championships. Soma won the silver medal at the Asian Games in September with a time of 57.57 seconds.
Taku Taniguchi During the heat, he was the fastest athlete in the men's 100m breaststroke, finishing with a time of 59.82 seconds. The 22-year-old representative from Chukyo University matched the fastest time of 59.72 seconds he recorded in September at this event.star of hope Yamato Fukasawa This morning, he also broke the 1 o'clock barrier with a time of 59.94 seconds. Just last month, Fukasawa clocked a time of 2:07.07 in the 200m breaststroke, and she will be part of that hot spot again this week.
Ippei WatanabeThe former 200 breasts world record holder heads into the final in third place with a qualifying mark of 1:00.15. He has his best time of 59.52 seconds in this his 100 meter dash, but has dreamed of another 200 seconds throughout his career. Hanaguruma Yuuwon the silver medal at the 2023 U.S. Championships, but hit the wall at 1:00.27.
Waka Kobori She attracted attention in the women's 400 free heat, taking the top spot in qualifying with a time of 4:08.72. Her best time was 4:05.57, a record she set locally at the Tokyo Olympics. The only competitor to break the 4:10 barrier Miyu Namba, I hit the wall at 4:09.46. Like Kobori at Namba, she had previously swum in the 4:05 range, and she held a best time of 4:05.25. The time needed to qualify for the Olympics is 4:05.34, so both athletes will need to try for personal bests tonight.
Regarding the men's 400 free, Kenta Ozaki He showed his presence with the fastest time (3 minutes 50.33 seconds), but Asaki Nishikawa (3:50.41) and Kazuki Imoto (3:50.55) Follow right behind. Japan's Olympic standard record is 3 minutes 45.85 seconds, so everyone will be significantly slower tonight.
In the men's 50 back action, 19 athletes recorded times in the 26 second range. Riku Matsuyama He took first place in all qualifying rounds with a time of 25.12. Matsuyama recently beat the legend in the 100 backstroke distance with his best time (53.84 seconds). Ryosuke Irie At the Kosuke Kitajima Cup the other day. 36 year old Japanese record holder, Junya Koga (25.64), which was the fourth time of the morning.
Semi-finals for the women's 100m fly and men's 100m breast will take place later in the day, with the 400m final taking place just a few hours later. There will be no semi-finals in the 50 back as the Japan Swimming Federation has instead chosen to advance to the finals in straight heats.
