Rikako Ikee Snares Fourth Title of Japanese Championships; Mio Narita An Emerging Star in Medley Events
The Japanese Championships came to a close on Sunday, and Rikako Ikee put the exclamation point on the competition with her fourth victory. Following up earlier triumphs in the 100 freestyle, 50 butterfly and 100 fly, Ikee capped her week by beating the field in the 50 freestyle. Ikee registered the only sub-25 performance, touching the wall in 24.74.
Due to demanding qualifying standards for this summer’s World Championships in Fukuoka, it remains to be seen which events Ikee will contest in her homeland. Regardless, she has defined herself as one of the best comeback stories in the sport, having beaten Leukemia to again rise to the upper echelon of the sport. She was followed in second place in the 50 free by Chihiro Igarashi, who posted a swim of 25.22.
Rising medley star Mio Narita put together a strong showing in the 400 individual medley, as her effort of 4:36.89 was a second quicker than the Ageha Tanigawa (4:37.90). Narita enjoyed a superb 2022 campaign, which included gold in the 400 IM at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships and World Junior Championships.
In the men’s 50 backstroke, longtime international stalwart Ryosuke Irie emerged on top, adding the sprint title to his gold medal in the 100 backstroke. Irie went 25.06 to edge Takeshi Kawamoto, who was timed in 25.12. Meanwhile, Satomi Suzuki was the winner of the women’s 50 breaststroke, in which she clocked a mark of 30.44.
Shogo Takeda was the winner of the men’s 1500 freestyle, behind a time of 15:06.50.