Japanese Olympic Trials: Semifinals Set Up Showdowns in 200 Butterfly, 200 Breaststroke
There were no new additions to the Paris roster following the fourth day of the Japanese Olympic Trials, as the semifinals were more intriguing than the two finals that were held during the session.
While the women’s 100-meter backstroke was won by Rio Shirai in 1:00.27, that performance fell almost a second short of the Japanese Federation’s required mark to secure a spot at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. A similar fate met Ikki Imoto in the men’s 800 freestyle, as his winning time of 7:56.17 fell nearly 10 seconds short of the necessary time for an Olympic invitation.
The fifth day of action figures to bring increased excitement, with finals scheduled in the men’s 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly, and finals set for both genders in the 100 freestyle.
The 200 breaststroke, which has always been a premier event for Japan, will have Ippei Watanabe as the top seed, following a 2:07.92 showing in the semifinals. Meanwhile, the 200 butterfly will feature Tomoru Honda, who claimed the world title in the event earlier this year in Doha. Honda earned the top seed for the final at 1:55.43.
In the women’s 100 freestyle, Leukemia survivor Rikako Ikee secured the top seed at 54.42, but she’ll need to drop more than a second in the final to meet Japan’s Olympic qualifying standard of 53.12.