Japan Swim Closes with Quick Battle in 400 IM; Kazushi Imafuku Sets National Record in 1500 Freestyle
Reigning Olympic silver medalist Tomoyuki Matsushita led three athletes under the 4:10 barrier in the 400-meter individual medley on the final night of the Japan Swim in Tokyo. Coming off a victory in the 200 IM from the previous night, Matsushita registered a time of 4:08.61 to prevail by more than a second over Asaki Nishikawa (4:09.63) and Kosuke Makino (4:09.79).
Matsushita, who was the runnerup to Leon Marchand at last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, took the lead on the opening butterfly leg and never relinquished that advantage. He split 55.79 for the fly leg and came through the midway point of the race in 1:58.97. At the 300-meter mark, Matsushita was timed in 3:10.19. Nishikawa fended off a late charge by Makino to earn second place and the second bid to this summer’s World Championships in Singapore.
A national record was broken in the men’s 1500 freestyle when 17-year-old Kazushi Imafuku covered the 30-lap distance in 14:50.18. That performance cut more than four seconds off the 14:54.80 that was posted by Kohei Yamamoto at the 2014 edition of the Japan Open. Imafuku went through the 800-meter mark in 7:52.57 and has given Japan promise in events that have not been highlights for the country in recent years.
In the women’s 400 medley, Mio Narita produced a high school record with a time of 4:35.39. She was joined in sub-4:40 territory by Waka Kobori, who stopped the clock in 4:39.14.
Katsuhiro Matsumoto dialed up a victory in the men’s 100 butterfly, as his winning mark of 51.10 paced four swimmers under the 52-second mark. Matsumoto took the lead from the start, splitting 23.70 at the midway point, and came home in 27.40 to edge out Naoki Mizunuma (51.47). Finishing third and fourth were Genki Terakado (51.64) and Tomonubu Gomi (51.69).
Veteran Satomi Suzuki wrapped up a sweep of the breaststroke events when she prevailed in 50 distance, going 30.36. Coming off wins in the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke, Suzuki finished more than a second ahead of Reona Aoki, who touched the wall in 30.99.
In the women’s 50 freestyle, Rikako Ikee was the sole performer under 25 seconds, as she took first place in 24.91. The men’s 50 backstroke featured a tie, as Masaki Yura and Riku Matsuyama posted matching times of 24.92.
Other winners included:
Men’s 50 Freestyle: Akira Namba (22.03)
Women’s 800 Freestyle: Ichika Kajimoto (8:26.02)