2024 Japanese Olympic Trials: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2024 JAPANESE OLYMPIC TRIALS

• Sunday, March 17th – Sunday, March 24th
• Tokyo Aquatics Center
• LCM (50m)
• Japan’s Olympic Selection Criteria
• Entries
• SwimSwam Entries Post
• Preview #1 / Preview #2
• Day 1 Prelims Recap | Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap| Day 2 Finals Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Recap
• Live Result
• Livestream

We entering day 3 of the 7-day Japanese Olympic Trials which follow the elongated format of heats, semi-finals and finals for most of the events.

Tonight’s lineup consists of just one semi-final of the women’s 100m back which means Olympic berths are on the line in every race thereafter.

34-year-old Ryosuke Irie will be featured in the men’s 100m back with the racing mainstay vying for a remarkable 5th Olympic Games appearance.

The men’s 200m free is also on the agenda, with a tight field led by teen Konosuke Yanagimoto; however, national record holder and 2019 World Championships medalist Katsuhiro Matsumoto is lurking among the pack.

And the women’s 400m IM field demonstrated its depth this morning with seven swimmers checking in at 4:43.2 or faster. Veteran and double Olympic champion from 2020 Yui Ohashi will try to fend off 17-year-old Mio Narita along with top-seeded Ageha Tanigawa this evening.

WOMEN’S 100 BACK – SEMI-FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 58.70 – Aya Terakawa, 2013
• Asian Record – 58.70 – Aya Terakawa, 2013
• World Record – 57.33 – Kaylee McKeown (AUS) 2023
• JASF QT – 59.49

Top 8:

1. Anna Konishi, 1:00.49
2. Rio Shirai, 1:00.69
3. Miki Takahashi, 1:00.80
4. Marina Furubayashi, 1:00.94
5. Chiaki Yamamoto, 1:01.06
6. Narumi Nagaoka, 1:01.09
7. Miri Sasaki, 1:01.22
8. Yuki Hideno, 1:01.47

This women’s 100m back field was void of any sub-minute results in the semi-finals.

Anna Konishi led the pack with a top seed of 1:00.49, just .20 ahead of 24-year-old Rio Shirai. The 3rd slot went to Miki Takahashi who clocked 1:00.80.

The Japanese Swimming Federation (JASF)-mandated qualification time of 59.49 is needed to make the Olympic squad. Shirai has been under that barrier, owning a lifetime best of 59.43 from 2019. She’ll appear in the 200m free final later in this session.

Konishi will need to surpass her career-quickest 59.62 to earn qualification while Takahashi’s 1:00.80 this evening matches her PB from last year’s Asian Games. She ultimately placed 5th there in Hangzhou in 1:01.01.

Of note, 5th seed Chiaki Yamamoto is just 16 years of age. These women are vying not only for individual Olympic qualification but also for a spot on the medley relay.

WOMEN’S 400 IM – FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 4:30.82 – Yui Ohashi, 2018
• Asian Record – 4:28.43 – Yu Shiwen (CHN), 2012
• World Record – 4:25.87 – Summer McIntosh (CAN), 2023
• JASF QT – 4:38.53

GOLD – Mio Narita, 4:35.40 *OLY Qualifying, *New High School Record
SILVER – Ageha Tanigawa, 4:35.60 *OLY Qualifying
BRONZE – Waka Kobori, 4:36.55

One of the most anticipated races of these Trials did not disappoint, as the women’s 400m IM came down to the wire.

17-year-old Mio Narita busted out a new personal best and Japanese High School Record of 4:35.40 en route to gold.

Ageha Tanigawa led through the first half of the race before Narita gained ground on breaststroke. She solidified her slim lead on freestyle to ultimately beat Tanigawa by just a touch. Tanigawa settled for silver in 4:35.60 but both women comfortably dipped under the JASF QT of 4:38.53.

Tanigawa won the silver medal at the Asian Games in September, which is where she clocked her current previous personal record of 4:35.65. She shaved .05 off of that PB with her silver medal performance this evening.

Narita’s time represents a new lifetime best, beating the 4:36.72 notched in 2022 to briefly hold the World Junior Record. The teen now checks in as Japan’s #3 performer in history.

Bronze went to Waka Kobori who posted 4:36.55 to also dip under the Paris 2024 selection standard. That’s a big-time personal best.

Entering these Trials, Kobori’s career-best of 4:39.06 was well behind the others, but the 23-year-old has been making incremental improvements.

Primarily a mid-distance freestyler, Kobori has only raced this 4IM on the elite stage the past 4 years with her PB timeline as follows:

• 2020 – 4:59.77
• 2021 – 4:43.35
• 2022 – 4:40.16
• 2023 – 4:39.06
• 2024 – 4:36.55

Yui Ohashi will not get a chance to defend her Olympic title as the 28-year-old was left off the podium with her outing of 4:38.89 relegating her to 4th place. Her result mirrored that of Daiya Seto, who missed the QT in the men’s edition of the 400m IM.

Ohashi will still have an opportunity to make the Olympic squad in the 200m IM.

MEN’S 200 FREE – FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 1:44.65 – Katsuhiro Matsumoto, 2021
• Asian Record – 1:44.39 – Sun Yang (CHN), 2017
• World Record – 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann (GER), 2009
• JASF QT – 1:45.84

GOLD – Katsuhiro Matsumoto, 1:45.29 *OLY Qualifying
SILVER – Konosuke Yanagimoto, 1:46.84
BRONZE – Tatsuya Murasa, 1:47.57

The men’s 200m freestyle field was working against a stiff JASF-mandated QT of 1:45.84, a benchmark under which just 3 swimmers have ever been among the Japanese elite.

Katsuhiro Matsumoto, the reigning national record holder, wound up atop the podium, producing a final time of 1:45.29 to get the job done.

Matsumoto opened in 50.75 and closed in 54.54 add his name to the provisional roster for Paris 2024. In the process, the 27-year-old scorched the 1:48.95 he registered for 6th place at last year’s Asian Games.

Matsumoto’s performance was less than a second off his lifetime best of 1:44.65. His Paris-worthy 1:45.29 now ranks him 7th in the world this season.

Runner-up status went to teen Konosuke Yanagimoto who stopped the clock in 1:46.84. That’s a new personal best by nearly half a second, overtaking his previous PB of 1:47.45 from 2021.

Tatsuya Murasa notched a mark of 1:47.57 for bronze, just off the best time of 1:47.49 he logged at the age of 16 .

Hidenari Mano placed 4th in 1:47.86 to most likely add his name to the roster for the men’s 4x200m free relay.

In addition to individual qualification, the men were also chasing an average time of 1:47.16 to meet the JASF qualification time for the 4x200m free relay. The top 4 finishers this evening averaged 1:46.89 to clear that threshold.

MEN’S 100 BACK – FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 52.24 – Ryosuke Irie, 2009
• Asian Record – 51.86 – Xu Jiayu (CHN), 2017
• World Record – 51.60 – Thomas Ceccon (ITA), 2022
• JASF QT – 53.21

GOLD – Riku Matsuyama, 53.72
SILVER – Ryosuke Irie, 54.10
BRONZE – Osamu Kato, 54.22

Unfortunately for fans of 34-year-old Ryosuke Irie, the 34-year-old racing mainstay was beaten in this men’s 100m backstroke.

Irie was ahead at the halfway mark, but Riku Matsuyama surged ahead in the final stretch to ultimately touch first.

Matsuyama clocked 53.72 as the sole swimmer under the 54-second barrier, as Irie touched in 54.10 for silver. Osamu Kato rounded out the podium in 54.22.

The men needed at least a mark of 53.21 in order to qualify individually for this event. Irie has been under that threshold multiple times and his season-best of 53.46 from earning silver at the Asian Games already put him within striking distance.

Matsuyama’s time this evening is a new personal best, shaving .12 off the 53.84 from January’s Kosuke Kitajima Cup.

Irie will still have an opportunity to qualify for his 5th Olympic Games in the men’s 200m back, arguably the veteran’s better event.

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST – FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 1:05.19 – Reona Aoki, 2022
• Asian Record – 1:05.19 – Reona Aoki, 2022
• World Record – 1:04.13 – Lilly King (USA), 2017
• JASF QT – 1:06.47

GOLD – Satomi Suzuki, 1:05.91 *Olympic Qualifying
SILVER – Reona Aoki, 1:05.93 *Olympic Qualifying
BRONZE – Kanako Watanabe, 1:07.15

Although national record holder Reona Aoki led this women’s 100m breast field out of the semi’s with a time of 1:05.76 last night, it was 33-year-old Satomi Suzuki who grabbed the gold in the main event.

Suzuki crushed a winning time of 1:05.91 to just out-touch Aoki by .02. Aoki hit 1:05.93 while both women easily cleared the JASF-mandated Olympic standard of 1:06.47

Suzuki led wire-to-wire, splitting 30.42/35.49 to produce a monster personal best. Entering these Trials the veteran’s PB rested at the 1:06.20 earned in the heats at the 2023 World Championships. She remains Japan’s #3 performer in history behind tonight’s bronze medalist Kanako Watanabe.

Tonight’s performance is further evidence of Suzuki’s career revival. She broke through at the 2012 Olympic Games by winning 200m breast silver, 100m breast bronze and medley relay bronze.

Suzuki made some noise at the 2018 Asian Games but largely her performances remained stagnant. That is until last year’s Asian Games. In Hangzhou, Suzuki earned silver in both the 50m and 100m breaststroke races. Her time of 30.14 at 33 years of age scored a new national record.

WOMEN’S 200 FREE – FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 1:54.85 – Rikako Ikee, 2018
• Asian Record – 1:53.92 – Siobhan Haughey (HKG), 2021
• World Record – 1:52.85 – Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS), 2023
• JASF QT – 1:56.55

GOLD – Waka Kobori, 1:58.22
SILVER – Rio Shirai, 1:58.27
BRONZE – Hiroko Makino, 1:58.42

The women’s 200m freestyle was a tight battle from start to finish with the top 5 performers separated by only about half a second.

Straight off her 400m IM silver medal, 23-year-old Kobori raced her way to gold in a time of 1:58.22. That was only .05 ahead of Shirai who also pulled a double tonight having competed in the 100m back semi-final earlier.

Hiroko Makino clocked 1:58.42 as the bronze medalist and Nagisa Ikemoto turned in a time of 1:58.51 for 4th.

This marks Kobori’s 3rd medal at these Trials as she also took 400m free silver on night one. Her outing in this 2free registers a new personal best, surpassing the 1:58.70 nabbed at 2021’s Japanese Inter-College Competition.

Ikemoto bumped herself up from a 7th-seeded 2:00.47 out of the semi-finals to help the women earn an Olympic bid in the 4x200m freer relay. The competitors needed to average 1:59.75 to make the cut, which they achieved tonight.

WOMEN’S 50 FLY – FINAL

• Japanese National Record – 25.11 – Rikako Ikee, 2018
• Asian Record – 25.05 – Zhang Yufei (CHN), 2023
• World Record – 24.43 – Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 2014

GOLD – Mizuki Hirai, 26.05
SILVER – Ai Soma, 26.16
BRONZE – Chiharu Itsuka, 26.34

The 50m stroke sprints don’t carry nearly the excitement as the Olympic-qualifying races but it still gives swimmers a chance to get wet in between their main events.

Mizuki Hirai captured gold in this 50m fly, putting up a time of 26.05. This represents her 2nd title after having ripped a time of 56.91 to qualify first for Paris in the 100m fly.

Ai Soma, the 4th place finisher in the 100m fly, touched in 26.16 for runner-up status.

Chiharu Itsuka logged 26.34 to bag the bronze.