Daiya Seto had to contend with a headache and jet-lag but it mattered not a jot as the Japanese swimmer unleashed a thunderous 400IM world record on day one of the grand finale of the International Swimming League in Las Vegas.
The 25-year-old marked his ISL debut with a time of 3mins 54.81secs to cut 0.69secs from the previous record set by Ryan Lochte at the World Short-Course Championships in 2010.
He also stopped the flight of the Cali Condors after the team captained by Caeleb Dressel – who also set a new world record in the 50m freestyle – had won the first five races.
Victory helped propel Energy Standard to the top of the rankings with the top three teams separated by just 17 points with day two to come.
Daiya Seto ploughs towards the world record over 400m medley at the ISL final in Las Vegas – Photo Courtesy: Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse
Seto finished five seconds of London Roar’s Duncan Scott, who became the first British man to crack four minutes in 3:59.81.
Seto only arrived in Las Vegas two days before the race and had little time to overcome the jet lag and headache no doubt brought on by the dry air of the Nevada city but he took it all in his stride. “It worked out,” he grinned. “I just did my best.
“I was not surprised by the time, I was going for it.”
Daiya Seto streamlines towards his World Record – Photo Courtesy: Gian Mattia D’Alberto/LaPresse
Seto will be in the spotlight at a home Games next July as he looks to add to the bronze he claimed in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
He had drawn confidence from his recent form coming into Las Vegas, including a performance at the Japanese Championships which propelled him to second-fastest in history behind Lochte.
Now the speediest ever, Seto explained through a translator:
“I have been training really hard towards the Tokyo Olympics so I was just very confident. In my recent meets I have been beating all my personal bests so I was quite confident.”
He described his first ISL experience as “very, very fun” adding:
“I think it has to do with the fact you are in a team and even when you are struggling and you feel you are not doing well, you can hear the encouragement by the other team members and it helps you to push forward.”
