Katsuhiro Matsumoto Breaks Five-Year-Old Japanese Record In 100 Free With 47.85

2023 JAPAN SWIM

• Tuesday, April 4th – Sunday, April 9th
• Prelims at 9:30 am local (8:30 pm previous night EDT)/A-Finals at ~5:00 pm local (4:00 am EDT)
• Tokyo Aquatics Center
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Katsuhiro Matsumoto joined the sub-48 club in the men’s 100 freestyle on Thursday at the Japanese World Trials (Japan Swim) in Tokyo, breaking a five-year-old national record to boot.

Matsumoto, 26, blasted his way to a time of 47.85 in the 100 free final, cracking the previous Japanese Record of 47.87, set by Katsumi Nakamura in February of 2018.

Matsumoto, who has predominantly specialized in the 200 freestyle over the course of his career, knocked half a second off his previous best time of 48.37, set nearly two years ago to the day (April 7, 2021) at the 2021 Japanese Olympic Trials.

Split Comparison

Matsumoto is the seventh Asian swimmer to break the 48-second threshold in the 100 free and just the second from Japan.

Given that only seven Asian swimmers have gone sub-48 in the history of the event, it’s noteworthy that three have done in the 2022-23 season. Prior to Matsumoto, Asian Record holder Hwang Sunwoo clocked 47.78 back in October, while China’s Wang Haoyu put up a time of 47.89 last month.

All-Time Asian Performers, Men’s 100 Freestyle (LCM)

1. Hwang Sunwoo (KOR), 47.56 – 2021 Olympic Games
2. Pan Zhanle (CHN) / Ning Zetao (CHN), 47.65 – 2022 World Championships / 2014 Chinese Nationals
3. –
4. Katushiro Matsumoto (JPN), 47.85 – 2023 Japan Swim
5. Katsumi Nakamura (JPN), 47.87 – 2018 Konami Open
6. Wang Haoyu (CHN), 47.89 – 2023 Chinese Spring Championships
7. He Junyi (CHN), 48.10 – 2019 Chinese National Championships
8. Joseph Schooling (SGP), 48.27 – 2016 Olympic Games
9. Shinri Shioura (JPN), 48.35 – 2016 Japan Swim
10. Park Tae Hwan (KOR), 48.42 – 2014 NSW State Open Championships

Matsumoto’s performance puts him well under the Japanese Swimming Federation’s (JASF) qualifying time of 48.34 for the 2023 World Championships (Japan is using the qualifying times for the Paris Olympics in order to qualify for Worlds this year, rather than the FINA ‘A’ cut).

He had already qualified to compete on home soil at this summer’s World Championships by virtue of his 1:44.98 performance in the 200 free on Wednesday, winning the event handily while moving into #2 in the world.

The runner-up in the event, Tomonobu Gomi, was nearly a full second back of Matsumoto in 48.75, while Nakamura was back in third in 48.89.

Matsumoto is the seventh swimmer under the 48-second barrier this season, currently ranking fourth in the world for 2022-23. The top time in the world now belongs to Great Britain’s Matt Richards, who dropped a time of 47.72 at the British Swimming Championships on Thursday.

Last year, Matsumoto’s season-best in the 100 free came in at 48.57, done at the 2022 Japanese World Trials, and he went on to place 23rd at the World Championships in a time of 48.83. He was also 12th in the 200 free and 13th in the 100 fly.

The 100 free marks his second LCM Japanese National Record, holding the 200 free mark at 1:44.65 from 2021.