The men’s 200 butterfly sparked an exciting first day of competition at the Japan Open, with Daiya Seto reaffirming his status as the best in the world and teammate Masata Sakai continuing his breakout year with a move up the world rankings. The meet is featuring several Australians as part of the new collaboration between the two federations, as well as swimmers from Great Britain and southeast Asia.
Seto had been the world’s fastest in the 200 fly with a 1:54.63 from last month’s nationals, and he improved on that with a 1:54.46 to win the event tonight. He remains the only swimmer under 1:55 in the world, with Sakai posting a 1:55.08 for second place at the meet and second in the world rankings to bump Brazil’s Leonardo De Deus to third. Notably, 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Takeshi Matsuda won the B final with a 1:57.40.
Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr
Natsumi Hoshi put on a show in the women’s 200 fly, winning the event by three seconds with a 2:06.90 that came close to her season best of 2:06.66 that ranks fourth in the world. Sakiko Shimzu was a distant second with a 2:09.36. Australia’s Madeline Groves, who leads the world rankings with a 2:05.41 from the Australian nationals, placed eighth in tonight’s final with a 2:11.99.
Kosuke Hagino stepped up for a rare appearance in the 1500 freestyle, and won the event with a 15:05.35. He pulled away from rising distance swimmer Ayatsugu Hirai at the 1200-meter mark to push Hirai back to second with a 15:08.51.
Australia won two events on the opening day. Emma McKeon took the 200 freestyle with a 1:56.79, less than a second off her season best of 1:55.88. Finishing second in the race was Rikako Ikee, who set the Japanese junior record with a 1:58.01. The 15-year-old got within seven tenths of the overall national record of 1:57.37, set in 2011 by Haruka Ueda.
Photo Courtesy: Swimming Australia
Jessica Ashwood had a tough race on her hands in the 800 freestyle with Chinatsu Satou as the two were never separated by more than a half second through 700 meters. But Ashwood, who ranks second in the world with an 8:21.33, pulled away in the final 100 to win with an 8:31.85 to Satou’s 8:32.96. Satou got herself a place in the global rankings, placing 20th.
Jessica Fullalove traveled from Great Britain to attend the meet, and was rewarded with a win in the women’s 100 backstroke with a 1:00.31. It’s her fastest swim of the year, and ranks her 16th in the world.
Ryosuke Irie had no trouble winning the men’s 100 backstroke, posting a 53.41 to beat the 54.07 by Junya Koga. Irie has been much faster this year with a 52.99 from last month, but Koga put up his fastest swim of the season.
Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr
Another top star from Japan, Kanako Watanabe, didn’t approach her month-old national record of 1:05.88 in the 100 breaststroke, but her 1:06.95 was enough to beat the 1:07.53 by Australia’s Jessica Hansen. Second through eighth place were separated by just five tenths of a second, as Yukino Miyasaka was eighth with a 1:08.09.
In the men’s 100 breast, Ryo Tateishi held off a late charge from Kazuki Kohinata to win with a 1:00.85 to Kohinata’s 1:00.90. Double Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima was fifth with a 1:01.28.
Yuki Kobori just missed cracking the global top 20 in winning the men’s 200 freestyle with a 1:47.48. He poured on the afterburners in the final 100 meters to pass Reo Sakata, who was second with a 1:47.85. Australia’s David McKeon was also in the mix, placing third with a 1:47.94.
those are some crazy fast Times!