Tomoru Honda Out Touches Seto by .01 in 200 Fly Prelims at Japanese Trials

2021 JAPAN SWIM (OLYMPIC TRIALS)

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Day 3 of the Japan Swim Olympic Trials kicked off Monday morning with the women’s 200 meter free, men’s 200 meter fly, and women’s 200 meter IM. There were no new Olympic qualifiers during this prelims session, looking at Japan’s rigorous Olympic qualifying standards.

One huge semifinal race to watch will be between 19-year-old Tomoru Honda and Olympic medalist Daiya Seto in the 200 fly where Honda out touched Seto by .01 in prelims. Seto placed 5th in this event at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

We can also look forward to a close race in the women’s 200 IM between Rika Omoto and National Record-holder Yui Ohashi who finished 1st and 2nd, respectively. Ohashi already has one gold medal finish at this meet after winning the 400IM final on Saturday.

Women’s 200 Freestyle

Top 3 Qualifiers:

1. Rio Shirai – 2:00.90
2. Chihiro Igarashi – 2:01.06
3. Nagisa Ikemoto – 2:01.56

After snagging 3rd in the 100 back semi-finals last night, Rio Shirai claimed the top spot going into the 200 free semifinals with a time of 2:00.90. She is now set to race both the 100 back final and 200 free semifinal tonight.

Chihiro Igarashi worked the back-half of this race, finishing just .16 after Shirai despite being .86 behind her at the 100 meter mark. 18-year-old Nagisa Ikemoto finished in 3rd place with a time of 2:01.56. We will likely see faster times going forward as Ikemoto swam a 1:57.77 to win the teenage final at the 2020 Kiara Cup.

Notably absent from this event was National Record holder Rikako Ikee who won the 100 fly on Saturday, qualifying for a spot on Japan’s Olympic medley relay.

Men’s 200 Butterfly

Top 3 Qualifiers:

1. Tomoru Honda – 1:56.20
2. Daiya Seto – 1:56.21
3. Teppei Morimoto – 1:57.19

Olympic medalist Daiya Seto tookout the first 50 meters fast, with a time of 25.50 compared to Tomoru Honda‘s 25.82. Gradually, Honda chipped away at Seto’s lead and out touched him to claim the top spot going into semifinals by .01.

This was a season-best time for 26-year-old Seto who posted a 1:56.32 at the 2021 Japan Open. His performance tonight ranks him #11 in the world this season. Honda’s 1:55.32 from the Japan Open in February still ranks him #5.

Teppei Morimoto took 3rd place about 1 second behind Seto with a time of 1:57.19. This was .20 faster than the time he posted at the 2020 Kiara Cup to win the teenage race.

Notably, Masato Sakai, who won silver in this event at the 2016 Rio Olympics,  placed 19th (1:59.51) and missed the semifinals.

Women’s 200 Individual Medley

Top 3 Qualifiers:

1. Rika Omoto – 2:12.53
2. Yui Ohashi – 2:13.30
3. Miho Teramura – 2:13.46

This was Omoto’s race to lose after the first 50 meters where she posted a 27.84. She then increased her half-a-second lead all the way into the wall, finishing with a time of 2:12.53. National Record-holder Yui Ohashi claimed 2nd place (2:13.30) after taking the first 50 out in 28.32. Ohashi’s lifetime best still stands at 2:07.91 from the 2017 World Championships, and her season-best time of 2:09.59 from the 2021 Japan Open ranks her #3 in the world this season. Miho Teramura took 3rd place with a time of 2:13.46.

Omoto posted a 2:10.62 at the same meet, ranking herself #8 in the world this season while Teramura is still ranked #5 with a time of 2:10.08 from the 2021 Kosuke Kitajima Cup in January. These gaps between their season-best times and prelims performances hint that we can expect some fast swims during the semifinals and finals.

Women’s 1500 Free

Top 3 Qualifiers:

1. Yukimi Moriyama – 16:28.25
2. Chinatsu Sato – 16:30.87
3. Mia Yamamoto  16:36.99

2-and-a-half seconds separated 1st and 2nd place in the women’s 1500 and it was a tight race from the beginning. Yukimi Moriyama and Chinatsu Sato were separated by .12 at the 800 meter mark, but Moriyama was able to pull away and secure victory with a time of 16:28.25. Her season-best time is 16:14.63 from the Chinese Swimming Championships in September, ranking her #24 in the world this season. In 3rd place was Mia Yamamoto with a time of 16:36.99.