Japan’s Never-Ending Racing Season Continues With Kitajima Cup

2019 KOSUKE KITAJIMA CUP

• Saturday, November 17th, 2018 & Sunday, November 18th, 2018
• Tatsumi International Swim Centre
• Tokyo, Japan
• Meet Site
• LCM
• Results (once available)

Named for the legendary Japanese Olympic breaststroker Kosuke Kitajima, the Kosuke Kitajima Cup gets underway this weekend in Tokyo, Japan. An open competition, national and international athletes will descend up on the famous Tatsumi International Swim Center for 2 days of action at the site of the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.

Note that this is technically the 2019 Kitajima Cup, even thought it is taking place in 2018. The competition typically takes place in January of the year, as the 2018 version did, but, due to Worlds qualifying meets and other conflicts, the Cup is being held this weekend instead.

The 2017 edition of this meet saw Ippei Watanabe produce the current 200m breaststroke World Record, while Rikako Ikee, Kosuke Hagino and Daiya Seto have also put up impressive performances in the past. The start lists have yet to be released, but the aforementioned athletes are indeed expected to compete.

Additionally, there will be an unnamed ‘special guest’ competing as a member of the celebrity relays at the end of the meet. Kitajima is also expected to race in that exhibition event.

Japanese athletes have been on a perpetual racing schedule this year, kicking off way back in the first quarter of this year with the 2018 Kitajima Cup, Konami Open, Kirara Cup, Japan Swim, Japan Open, Pan Pacific Championships, Asian Games, the nation’s Short Course Championships Trials, as well as the World Cup Series.

They’ll close out the year with the Short Course World Championships, although key athletes including Hagino, Ikee, Yui Ohashi and Shinri Shioura, among others, have opted out.