Olympic champion Kosuke Hagino will miss this summer’s world championships in Gwangju.
The Japanese swimmer withdrew before April’s national championships, citing a lack of desire to compete, and was not at this week’s Japan Open, NBC Sports reported.
“Kosuke Hagino will not be competing at the World Championships this year,” a Hagino representative said in an email to NBC Sports. “He is taking some time off and will be preparing for next year.”
Hagino won the gold medal in the 400 IM in Rio in 2016. He holds the Asian record in the event in 4:06.05.
In March he said the following:
“I’ve been unable to achieve the results I had hoped for since the 2017 season. As the gap between my targets and reality has widened, it has become harder for me to maintain my motivation.”
Hagino has not been the same swimmer he has been since winning the 400 IM on the first night of the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, breaking the Americans’ winning streak in the event that started in 1996. Since then, he had failed to medal in the 400 IM at the 2017 World Championships, placing sixth, some six seconds off his winning time the year before. In 2018 he had the third ranked time in the world in the 400 IM with a 4:10.30, which he swam in a silver medal performance at the Asian Games.
Hagino was also the Olympic silver medalist in Rio in the 200 IM behind Michael Phelps. He won a silver in the 2017 Worlds behind American Chase Kalisz and had the fourth fastest time in the world in the 200 IM in 2018 (1:56.66).
Laralian Anor Abajon
What a shame. I was never close to his caliber but I knew when I was done, so best of luck to him.