This summer, a new Olympic champion will be crowned in the women's 400m individual medley.
17 years old Mio Narita deposed Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Yui Ohashi Her goal is to earn a spot at her first Olympic Games, which will be held on Tuesday (March 19).
The third day of the Japan Swimming Championships. paris 2024Still a high school student, Narita set a personal best of 4:35.40 at the Tokyo Aquatics Center, touching the wall first and feeling shaken throughout the competition.
Narita said, “It feels great to have achieved the goal I set for myself.'' “Many people have supported me in getting this far, and I want to share this joy.”
runner-up Tanikawa Swallowtail He cleared the qualifying time of 4:38.53 with a time of 4:35.60 and was able to join the team.
Ohashi faded in the free skate and took 4th place with a time of 4:38.89. At 28 years old, she still has the strongest 200m IM of her two races here.
Ohashi said that if she fails to compete in the 200 meters, her career will likely come to an end.
“I want to make the team no matter what,” she said. “If I can't do that, swimming is over for me. I might end up quitting.”
At last summer's World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Narita finished last in the 400m IM final, more than 15 seconds behind the winner. summer mackintosh (4:27.11). Narita's time on Tuesday was only behind McIntosh's season world lead of 4:29.96.
Narita is the third high school student to qualify for this tournament. The day before, Tomoyuki Matsushita (men's 400m IM) Mizuki Hirai (Women's 100m butterfly) We got the job done.
