2020 KOSUKE KITAJIMA CUP
- Friday, January 24th – Sunday, January 26th
- Tatsumi International Swimming Centre, Tokyo, Japan
- 50m (LCM)
- Meet Information
- SwimSwam Preview
- Day 1 Recap
- Results
Japanese star Daiya Seto has been swimming like a man on a mission for the past week or so, putting up three lifetime bests, and rewriting all-time top performances lists, in the 200 fly, 200 IM, and now the 400 IM. Here’s race video from Seto’s 400 IM, a 4:06.09 effort that makes him the 5th-fastest performer in history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiRFnNkGKmM&=&feature=youtu.be
Courtesy of YouTube user Yoshiyuki T
Seto actually was about seven-tenths of a second under world record pace after the fly leg, but fell behind on the backstroke leg. Here’s a quick comparison of Seto’s split to Phelps’ world record splits.
- Phelps 2008: 54.92/ 1:01.57 / 1:10.56 / 56.79 = 4:03.84
- Seto 2020: 54.22 / 1:03.46 / 1:09.83 / 58.58 = 4:06.09
Even if the world record proves to be out of reach this summer, Seto would not need to shave much time off his swim to quickly jump up to #3 all-time, as he’s less than two-tenths of a second behind Kosuke Hagino and Chase Kalisz on the all-time list.
Top 5 Men’s 400 IM Performers All-Time
- Michael Phelps (USA) 4:03.84, 2008 Olympic Games
- Ryan Lochte (USA) 4:05.18, 2012 Olympic Games
- Chase Kalisz (USA) 4:05.90, 2017 World Championships
- Kosuke Hagino (JPN) 4:06.05, 2016 Olympic Games
- Daiya Seto (JPN) 4:06.09, 2020 Kosuke Kitajima Cup
This dude has got to be so aerobically fit, to keep a store rate like that in a 400
One up one down on fly breathing 🤢
So much power and undulation in such a small body compared to these brutes. My hero
If Seto break’s Phelps’s record in Tokyo, he should be given the emperor’s palace and be allowed to rule for eternity
Lord Dean won’t allow that to happen ….lol
Lane 6’s fly is a thing of beauty
His name is yuya yajima
Unless he peaked too early he is going to easily win both IMs and be second in the 200 fly
He could win the 2 fly as well. With a 1:52 in January, it’s possible he could be 1:50 high in Tokyo, and there’s no guarantee Milak will be faster. If I remember correctly, he said he would be taking some time away from 200 fly training to focus on other events (presumably 100 fly/mid free). Obviously Milak will be hard to beat, but I’d give Seto a fighting chance.
Let’s not get too far lol. Seto had great swims but he’s surely fully rested for these. He crushed his best times. I hope he does great in Tokyo, but a 1:50 fly is not only very fast, but he’s going to have two 400 ims before that.
I can remember Larkin doing crazy fast times in end of 2015 and early 2016, but only to get beaten at Olympics. Hope it won’t be the same for Seto.
Honestly I agree. These fast swims remind me of Cate Campbell’s WR, McEvoy’s 100 free textile record swim, and Cseh’s 1:52 fly, all relatively shortly before Rio
He has zero reason to be fully rested right now. He has his Olympic qualifications secured in the 200 and 400 IM, but the Japan Swim is in April. It is a one-shot meet just like the US Olympic Trials, and he still has to swim a fast enough time there in the 200 fly and get first or second to secure qualification in that event.
Lets see how the virus goes or there won’t be any games. Other wise yes he is looking great .
drop the virus news …..
Tokyo itself has 4 cases flown in direct from Wuhan . Its the most of any city outside of China . Japan is evacuating its citizens . I think that is news specific to the Tokyo
His backstroke looks a bit short and weird sometimes. Could definitely improve there.
So funny to watch Seto’s fly turnover next to the dolphin diver