After Olympic Struggles, Daiya Seto Bouncing Back
To say the Olympic Games in Tokyo did not go well for Japan’s Daiya Seto would be an understatement. Heading into the Games, Seto was a contender for multiple individual medals, and was the favorite for gold in the 400 individual medley. Ultimately, Seto struggled on home soil, failing to qualify for the final of the 400 medley and 200 butterfly in shocking developments. In the months since, though, Seto has rebounded with several strong outings in the short-course pool.
The 400 individual medley bronze medalist at the 2016 Olympic Games, Seto had an outstanding performance at the 2021 FINA World Cup. He competed during the third and fourth legs, winning a total of eight gold medals in eight events. Here is a look at how Seto rebounded from Tokyo.
October 21-23
Leg three of the World Cup was held in Doha, Qatar at the Hamad Aquatic Centre. Seto claimed titles in the 100 and 400 individual medley, 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke. His standout race was the 200 breaststroke. Seto went a solid 2:01.65, .40 faster than the Olympic silver medalist in this event, Arno Kamminga. Moreover, his 1:49.76 in the 200 butterfly was among the top performances in the world. In the 100 IM, Seto (51.56) dug deep to edge South African Matthew Sates (51.74), a rising teen on the world stage.
October 28-30
Leg four of the World Cup, held in Kazan, Russia, again featured a four-event schedule for Seto, but with the 200 fly replaced by the 200 IM. Seto again won each of his events, including the 200 IM in a World Cup record of 1:50.66. Furthermore, Seto swam an aggressive 400 individual medley and lowered his time to 3:57.85. The 100 IM was again tight, this time with Seto beating Russian Kliment Kolesnikov by .02 with an Asian record of 51.29.
At the end of the competition, Seto was named the MVP for Doha and Kazan.
Seto’s Future
Seto just announced his emancipation from the Japanese Swimming Federation. As a result, he is now primarily responsible for expenses related to training camps and trips. In addition, Seto declared that he will start splitting his training time between the United States and Japan. A few weeks after saying that, Seto joined Olympic medalists in the 400 individual medley, Chase Kalisz and Jay Litherland, at the University of Georgia. However, he does not plan to stick to the American program but to use his experiences to learn new methodologies.