2024 Japanese Olympic Trials: Day 7 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| Day 3 Finals Recap
• Day 4 Prelims Recap| Day 4 Finals Recap
• Day 5 Prelims Recap|Day 5 Finals Recap
• Day 6 Prelims Recap|Day 6 Finals Recap
• Day 7 Prelims Recap
• Live Results
• Livestream

Session Preview:

The penultimate finals session of the 2024 Japanese Olympic Trials is upon us, and the night will commence with semifinals of three different events. The men’s 100 butterfly will lead things off, where national record holder Naoki Mizunuma will be among the loaded field. He qualified 1st in prelims with a time of 51.75, but Katsuhiro Matsumoto and Takeshi Kawamoto are anticipated to be in close pursuit tonight.

The women’s 200 IM will also feature the national record holder, as Yui Ohashi qualified fastest earlier today in 2:14.32. Ohashi’s Japanese record sits at 2:07.91, and she won the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in a slightly slower time of 2:08.52. She missed out on qualifying for Paris in the 400 IM earlier in the competition, so she’ll certainly be looking to advance to tomorrow’s 200 IM final, where she’s very capable of swimming the 2:10.70 qualification standard.

The women’s 50 free heats were led by Nagisa Ikemoto, who put her hand on the touchpad in 25.14. Rikako Ikee, who already booked her ticket to Paris in the 100 fly, sits 2nd at 25.20. Ikee owns the national record in the event from 2018, where she threw down a time of 24.21, which is under the 24.55 Olympic qualifying time set by Swimming Japan. Ikee and Ikemoto went 1-2 in the 100 free on night five in Tokyo, clocking times of 54.15 and 54.20, respectively.

Olympic spots are up for grabs in the men’s 50 free, women’s 200 back, and men’s 200 IM in this session. Most prominently, Daiya Seto is still looking to secure his place on the Olympic team, as he missed out in both the 400 IM and 200 fly earlier this week. Seto clocked a time of 1:57.54 just last month, which is only 0.03 outside of the necessary time.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY — SEMI-FINALS

• Japanese National Record — 50.81 – Naoki Mizunuma, 2022
• Asian Record — 50.39 – Joseph Schooling (SGP), 2016
• World Record — 49.45 – Caeleb Dressel (USA), 2021
• JASF QT — 51.43

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Katsuhiro Matsumoto, 51.54
2. Naoki Mizunuma, 51.59
3. Genki Terakado, 51.66
4. Tomoru Honda, 51.81
5. Takeshi Kawamoto, 52.00
6. Yuya Tanaka, 52.29
7. Yuya Sakamoto, 52.36
8. Takaya Yasue, 52.59

In the men’s 100 fly semifinals, which is one of the deepest events domestically, four swimmers broke into the 51-second realm. Katsuhiro Matsumoto led the way at 51.54, as he split 23.97/27.57 en route to earning top seed honors for Sunday night’s final. He’s already qualified to represent Japan at the upcoming Olympic Games, as he clocked 1:45.29 in the 200 freestyle earlier in the meet.

Naoki Mizunuma hit the wall in 51.59 to win the second semifinal, undercutting his prelim effort of 51.75 by 0.16. He opened his race tonight in 24.03 before closing in 27.56, which is a change of strategy from earlier today. In prelims, he took the race out slower (24.43) before charging home over the closing meters (27.32).

Both Mizunuma and Matsumoto have been sub-51 in the past, so the 51.43 qualifying time shouldn’t be too much of a problem in the final. 29-year-old Takeshi Kawamoto, who is the 3rd fastest active Japanese swimmer in this event, finished in 52.00 tonight. He sits exactly one second outside his lifetime best (51.00) that he put on the board at the 2021 National Championships.

Genki Terakado, who was golden in the 200 fly earlier in the week, punched in at 51.66 for 3rd overall. Tomoru Honda, who was runner-up in that 200 fly, hit the wall in 51.81 to claim the 4th seed. Honda has had an up-and-down week here in Tokyo, as he missed the 400 IM final earlier this week, where he was among the favorites with his entry time of 4:09.98. Honda is recovering from an ankle injury that occurred just last month, where he battled through the adversity to claim his first ever World title.

Top 3 Active 100 Butterfly Swimmers in Japan:

1. Naoki Mizunuma — 50.81 from 2022
2. Katsuhiro Matsumoto — 50.96 from 2023
3. Takeshi Kawamoto — 51.00 from 2021

WOMEN’S 200 IM — SEMI-FINALS

• Japanese National Record — 2:07.91 – Yui Ohashi, 2017
• Asian Record — 2:07.57 – Ye Shiwen (CHN), 2012
• World Record — 2:06.12 – Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 2015
• JASF QT — 2:10.70

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Yui Ohashi, 2:12.30
2. Mana Ishikawa, 2:13.61
3. Mio Narita, 2:13.75
4. Kairyo Nagaoka, 2:13.93
5. Nobuho Matsumoto, 2:14.55
6. Yuka Kaise, 2:14.99
7. Rio Sato, 2:15.42
8. Tamana Sasaki, 2:15.61

Two-time Olympic Champion Yui Ohashi led the way in the women’s 200 IM semifinals. She checked-in at 2:12.30 to win the second semifinal, clearing the field by over a full second as we approach tomorrow’s all-important final. Ohashi’s breaststroke leg was the difference maker, as she laid down a scorching 37.24 split to completely herself from the field. She opened in 28.46 on fly before splitting 34.20 on back and 32.40 on free.

Ohashi won this event at the Tokyo Olympics with a time of 2:08.52 and holds the national record in 2:07.91. Earlier in these Trials, she missed the mark in the women’s 400 IM, placing 3rd to miss the Olympic team. She is also the defending Olympic Champion in that longer distance, so she won’t have a chance to defend her Olympic crown.

The time required in tomorrow’s final for this 200m distance is 2:10.70, which is about three seconds off her lifetime best, so it seems well within reach after appearing to shut things down on the freestyle leg in tonight’s semifinal.

Mio Narita, who won the 400 IM (4:35.40) earlier in the meet to qualify for Paris, was 3rd overall this evening at 2:13.75. Narita’s personal best in this shorter IM distance, 2:10.11, is under Japan’s qualifying standard.

WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE — SEMI-FINALS

• Japanese National Record — 24.21 – Rikako Ikee, 2018
• Asian Record — 23.97 – Liu Xiang (CHN), 2021
• World Record — 23.61 – Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 2023
• JASF QT — 24.55

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Rikako Ikee, 24.91
2. Nagisa Ikemoto, 25.32
3. Ai Soma, 25.34
4. Mayuka Yamamoto, 25.45
5. Ayu Mizoguchi, 25.49
6. Yume Jinno, 25.58
7. Natsuki Hiroshita, 25.64
8. Miki Takahashi, 25.81

The only sub-25 swim of tonight’s semifinals was courtesy of national record holder Rikako Ikee (24.91), who will move into the final with a 0.41 lead on the field. Ikee is eyeing her 2nd title of the week, as she’s coming off a 1st place performance in the 100 free (54.15) from night five. While the 100m performance didn’t render her a Paris qualification spot, her 2nd place effort in the 100 fly did, as she undercut Swimming Japan’s benchmark time of 57.34 by 0.04.

5 years removed from her leukemia diagnosis, 23-year-old Ikee is having her best set since returning to the sport of swimming. She’s been training under Michael Bohl in Australia for the past few months, and the change of scenery seems to be working quite well for her Olympic preparations.

Nagisa Ikemoto, who clocked 54.20 to nearly defeat Ikee in the 100 free a few nights ago, logged 25.32 for 2nd tonight. Yume Jinno, won sprinted to 3rd in a sub-55 performance in that same 100 free final, touched in 25.58 to sit 6th in this one lap sprint.

Ikee, Ikemoto, and the rest of the field will have to lift in tomorrow’s final, as the 24.55 qualification time will require a sizable drop from tonight’s swims.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE — FINAL

• Japanese National Record — 21.67 – Shinri Shioura, 2019
• Asian Record — 21.67 – Shinri Shioura, 2019
• World Record — 20.91 – Cesar Cielo (BRA), 2009
• JASF QT — 21.82

Podium:

GOLD – Shinri Shioura, 22.17
SILVER – Masahiro Kawane, 22.21
BRONZE – Katsumi Nakamura, 22.31

There were no Olympic qualifiers in tonight’s 50 freestyle for men, as no swimmer neared the required time of 21.82.

It was 32-year-old Shinri Shioura who was too fast for the rest of the field to handle. He sprinted to a final time of 22.17, which garnered him gold by 0.04 ahead of runner-up Masahiro Kawane. 23-year-old Kawane has been as quick as 22.10 in this race, a time he produced in April of last year.

Shioura, who owns the national record at 21.67 from 2019, has been a staple on the Japanese National scene since 2008. One of his career highlights came at the 2018 Asian Games, where he walked away as a two-time gold medalist.

30-year-old Katsumi Nakamura raced to 22.31, his fastest swim of the meet. His best time is 21.87, from 2018, and he was 22.56 (heats) and 22.33 (semifinals) in the earlier rounds this week in Tokyo.

WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• Japanese National Record — 2:07.13 – Reiko Nakamura, 2008
• Asian Record — 2:06.46 – Zhao Jing (CHN), 2010
• World Record — 2:03.14 – Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2023
• JASF QT — 2:08.65

Podium:

GOLD – Chiaki Yamamoto, 2:10.82
SILVER – Yuzuki Mizuno, 2:11.62
BRONZE – Manami Nagaoka, 2:12.30

Just like we saw in the men’s 50 free, no swimmers were able to near the qualification time in this event.

17-year-old Chiaki Yamamoto claimed the golden crown in 2:10.82, more than two full seconds off the required time for the Olympic Games. Yamamato’s time of 2:10.82 is just outside her best time of 2:10.13, which she put on the books in September.

Yuzuki Mizuno, just 18, snagged silver tonight with a time of 2:11.62. Mizuno was the top seed after the qualifying heats, but settled herself into 4th after last night’s semifinals (2:12.06). Mizuno is the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships gold medalist, where she notched her current best of 2:09.17.

Mizuno’s best-ever 2:09.17 is just 0.52 outside the time standard set by Swimming Japan, but she was 2.97 off the required time this evening.

MEN’S 200 IM – FINAL

• Japanese National Record — 1:55.07 – Kosuke Hagino, 2016
• Asian Record — 1:54.62 – Wang Shun (CHN), 2023
• World Record — 1:54.00 – Ryan Lochte (USA), 2011
• JASF QT — 1:57.51

Podium:

GOLD – Daiya Seto, 1:56.87 *Olympic Qualification
SILVER – So Ogata, 1:57.52
BRONZE – Takumi Mori, 1:58.01

After missing Paris qualification in both the 400 IM and 200 fly, 29-year-old Daiya Seto got the job done in the 200 IM. He punched a time of 1:56.87, dropping about 1.5 seconds from his semifinal effort of 1:58.33. Seto has been as fast as 1:55.55 in his career, a time he registered at the 2020 FINA Champions Series. His previous season best stood at 1:57.54, which earned him 4th at February’s World Championship meet.

In a heartbreaking situation, So Ogata touched for 2nd place in 1:57.52, just 0.01 outside of the Japanese Swimming Federation (JASF)-mandated Olympic qualification time (1:57.51). Ogata clocked his best time at the Fukuoka World Championships last July, where he stopped the clock in 1:57.06 the semifinals. Ogata went on to place 8th in the final, where he checked-in with a slightly slower time of 1:57.82.

Takumi Mori rounded out the podium in 1:58.01, almost a full second quicker than his 1:58.86 marker from Saturday’s semifinals.

Seto’s performance tonight raises his world ranking to #4, as he slides ahead of American Carson Foster’s (1:56.97) time from the World Championships last month.

WOMEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE — FINAL

• Japanese National Record — 30.10 – Satomi Suzuki, 2023
• Asian Record — 29.51 – Tang Qianting (CHN), 2023
• World Record — 29.16 – Ruta Meilutyte (LTU), 2023

Podium:

GOLD – Satomi Suzuki, 30.42
SILVER – Kono Miyasaka, 31.24
BRONZE – Hiroko Makino, 31.58

33-year-old Satomi Suzuki completed her sweep of the breaststroke events at these selection Trials. She registered a time of 30.42 for gold, a few tenths off her national record of 30.10 from last year. When Suzuki won the 100 breast earlier in the meet, she split 30.42/35.49, meaning she just equaled her opening split from the 100 in tonight’s race.

Suzuki was a two-time Olympic medalist from the 2012 Olympics, where she earned bronze in the 100 breast (1:06.46) before bagging silver in the 200m (2:20.92).

Suzuki This Week:

• Gold — 50 Breaststroke, 30.42 (Non-Olympic event)
• Gold — 100 Breaststroke, 1:05.91 *Best Time & Olympic Qualification Time
• Gold– 200 Breaststroke, 2:23.09 *Olympic Qualification Time

Suzuki still sits 4th in the world rankings, courtesy of her national record time from October.