TOKYO, Japan, April 18. THE fourth day of competition at the Japanese Olympic Trials featured an upset or two, while Kosuke Kitajima stalked his national record in the 200 breast during semis.
In a surprising outcome, Takashi Yamamoto, the 2004 Athens silver medalist in the 200 fly, will not represent Japan in the event in Beijing. Ryuichi Shibata won the race in 1:55.57, while Takeshi Matsuda took second in 1:55.66. Yamamoto came up short with a third-place 1:56.43.
In the men's 200 breast semifinals, Kitajima clocked a time of 2:10.37 to lead qualifying, less than a second off the national record of 2:09.42 heading into finals.
Asami Kitagawa took hold of the women's 200 IM title in 2:13.29, while Izumi Katou placed second in 2:14.82. In the men's medley, Takurou Fujii touched out Ken Takakuwa for the title, 2:00.30 to 2:00.37.
Kaori Yamada surfaced from the women's 50 free with the win in 25.71, while Masayuki Kishida claimed the men's race in 22.69.
In other semifinal action, Yuuko Nakanishi led the women's 200 fly with a time of 2:08.86, while Tomomi Morita paced the men's 200 back in 1:58.65.