Rikako Ikee Leads Trio of Japanese Swimmers to Qualify For Paris on Day 2
The 2024 Japanese Olympic Trials saw three swimmers qualify for the Paris Olympics on Day 2.
Leukemia survivor Rikako Ikee was one of the three as she punched her ticket to Paris in the 100 butterfly.
It is the best she has swam since the diagnosis and her training with Michael Bohl in Australia has paid off.
Compatriot Mizuki Hirai also reached the qualifying standard in the 100 butterfly, finishing ahead of Ikee.
Hirai won the race in 56.91, while Ikee was second in 57.30. The bronze went to Shiho Masumoto in 57.31, which was a new Japanese student record.
In the men’s 400 IM, Tomoyuki Matsushita won the race in an Olympic qualifying time to punch his ticket with a swim of 4:10.04.
There were a couple of athletes expected to qualify, who did not on Day 2. Tomoru Honda missed the final in the 400 IM and was considered in the mix to win the event.
Meanwhile, star Daiya Seto took the silver in the 400 IM, which wasn’t the big surprise. The bigger surprise was that he did not reach a qualifying time in the event. Seto won the silver in 4:10.84, followed by Kaito Tabuchi (4:11.15).
The men’s 100 breaststroke saw no one make the cut. Takashi Taniguchi won in 59.43, while the silver was a tie between Yu Hanaguruma and Ippei Watanabe, who both finished in 59.47.
In the men’s 200 free semifinals, Konoskuke Yanagimoto earned the top seed for finals with a 1:47.63, ahead of Katushiro Matsumoto (1:47.69) and Tatsuya Murasa (1:47.83).
In the women’s breaststroke semifinal, the top three finishers were Reona Aoki (1:05.76), Satomi Suzuki (1:06.29) and Yukino Miyasaka (1:07.31).
In the men’s 100 back semis, Ryosuke Irie took the top seed in 53.89, ahead of Riku Matsuyama and Yasuke Sato (54.18).
In the women’s 200 free semifinal, Waka Kobori took the top spot (1:58.72), ahead of Rio Shirai (1:59.14) and Momoka Yoshi (1:59.67).
The non-Olympic men’s 50 fly final saw Naoki Mizunuma win in 23.26.