2019 JAPAN OPEN
- Thursday, May 30th – Sunday, June 1st
- Tokyo International Swimming Pool
- LCM
- World Championships Qualifying Meet
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
The 2019 Japan Open kicks off on Thursday of this week, where Japan’s best will vie for any open spots on the 2019 World Championships roster. 17 Japanese athletes have been slated for Gwangju thus far, but swimmers still have a shot of making the line up with their performances in Tokyo this week.
It’s not an outright surprise, but still notable that Olympic champion Kosuke Hagino is indeed missing from the Japan Open start lists. As he already opted out of the 1st qualification meet of the Japan Swim from April, Hagino now has no chance to make his nation’s roster and, therefore, will be absent from the 2019 World Championships.
As we reported, when Hagino announced his withdrawal from the Japan Swim, the 24-year-old Bridgestone swimmer stated, “I’ve been unable to achieve the results I had hoped for since the 2017 season.
“As the gap between my targets and reality has widened, it has become harder for me to maintain my motivation.”
Prior to that, Hagino announced he was staying home from the national team’s training camp scheduled for Spain, instead trying to reboot himself with rest.
Japan National Team Head Coach Norimasa Hirai told Japanese media, “In his current condition it would be really hard [for Hagino to perform well at the Japan Championships.]”
“He’s not in very good spirits. He needs to rest and when he decides to comes back, he needs to start swimming for himself.”
Hagino is the reigning 400m IM Olympic champion and holds his nation’s standards across the 200m and 400m freestyle events, as well as the 200m IM and 400m IM, but has since struggled to come within range of those performances from 2014 and 2016, respectively.
For the rest of the Japanese swimmers who are partaking in the final qualifying opportunity to add their names for Gwangju, the times below serving as the qualification minimums.
Could it be possible to show an English version of the start lists, and the entire programme of the event? Thank you!
Hagino (born in 1994) has huge LCM PBs: 1.55.07 in the 200 IM, 4.06.05 in the 400 IM, 52.78 in the 100 back, 1.54.77 in the 200 back, 48.75 in the 100 free, 1.45.23 in the 200 free, 3.43.90 in the 400 free, all swum in the 2014 or 2016 (in the 2015 he was injured) and only in the 400 IM made in a major event (gold at 2016 Olympic Games).
So, for many months, particularly in 2014 (when he was perhaps the best male swimmer in the World) but also in early2016, there was a feeling that Hagino had still room for improvement his already impressive PBs.
Everybody would have known this. Sorry for that. I hope he’ll be here next year.
Tough qualifying standards!
I really hope we see more of him. He’s a great athlete and competitor. Hopefully he can recharge his batteries a bit in time for Tokyo 2020 and put on a show for the home crowd.
He broke the 1996-2012 streak of American gold medals in the 400 IM. It’s actually pretty common to have a hangover from that kind of success. If he wants to continue swimming, taking a step back and refinding joy in the sport seems like the best strategy.
This is easier said than done. This is why I guess they tend to say it’s harder to stay in top than to get there. What could be his motivation when he already achieved the maximum one can achieve.
Ryan Murphy went through something similar after 2016 if i recall
It always depends. Laure Manaudou never really come back after 2007 for instance. I just wish Hagino well, both in swimming and his private life.
Wow.
BTW I don’t think that pic is of Hagino.
It’s not hagino only wears Mizuno
Man…if him and Rikako are not in the Tokyo games it will be incredibly sad.