2024 JAPANESE OLYMPIC TRIALS
- Sunday, March 17th – Sunday, March 24th
- Tokyo Aquatics Center
- LCM (50m)
- Japan’s Olympic Selection Criteria
- Entries
- SwimSwam Entries Post
As the 2024 Japanese Olympic Trials are nearly upon us, we’re hyping up a few of the big events that are guaranteed to bring the fireworks. As a refresher, the trials begin on Sunday, March 17th, in Tokyo and span 7 days. The Japanese Swimming Federation (JASF) selection criteria are linked above.
Kicking us off is a look at the men’s 200m breaststroke, one of the most competitive domestic events on the planet.
Currently, 6 of the top 25 best performers on the season hail from the nation including 2 of the top 5. The JASF qualification standard has been set at 2:08.48, a mark under which 6 active swimmers have dipped at least once throughout their careers.
Former world record holder Ippei Watanabe currently owns the fastest 200m breaststroke time in the world. The 26-year-old fired off a near-lifetime best of 2:07.02 at the Kosuke Kitajima Cup in January in his continued momentum build since missing the 2020 Olympics team.
Behind Watanabe is 3rd-ranked Yamato Fukasawa, a newcomer to the sub-2:08 club.
Fukasawa kicked off 2024 with a big-time 2:07.98 at the Kosuke Kitajima Cup before dropping that down to 2:07.07 the following month at the Konami Open. That rendered him the 4th-best Japanese performer in history.
Yet there is still 2022 World Championships silver medalist Yu Hanaguruma, Olympians Ryuya Mura and Shoma Sato as well as Ikuru Hiroshima to talk about.
Hanaguruma has been as swift as 2:08.04 this year while Hiroshima posted a time of 2:09.37 in Doha. While Hiroshima’s time represents his PB, Hanaguruma owns a career-quickest result of 2:07.99.
Mura, the man who beat Watanabe for the 2nd Olympic roster slot in 2021, has been quiet as of late but still enters these Trials as the 6th-fastest Japanese swimmer in history (2:07.58).
23-year-old Sato owns a PB of 2:06.40, the national record he established at the 2020 Olympic Trials, but can be categorized as a dark horse this time around. He was lackluster at those home-based Games, revealing after the fact he competed with a hernia.
Since Tokyo, Sato’s fastest performance came at last year’s World Championships Trials where he notched 2:08.21. However, in that Fukuoka semi-final, he registered just 2:10.72 to place 14th overall.
Carnage and then tumbleweed.
The story of Japanese trials.
Carnage?
Although Watanabe has been very inconsistent since Gwangju, he has had a bit of a resurgence since the Asian Games, going 2:07 twice at local meets. That’s a very reassuring sign for him IMO.
Shoma Sato on the other hand has not come anywhere near the 2:06.40 form that he showed at the 2021 trials. I doubt that he makes it.
Fukasawa and Watanabe have to be my top two choices, as those two have been very consistent as of late.