Matsumoto Posts 1:44.98 200 Free, Aoki Logs 1:05.89 100 Breast At Japan Swim

• 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
• LCM (50m)
• Qualification Meet For World Championships, World Junior Championships, World University Games, Asian Games
• JPN Selection Criteria
• Entries (in Japanese)
• Day 1 Finals Recap/Day 2 Prelims Recap
• Live Results
• Livestream

Day three of the 2023 Japan Swim brought more World Championships qualifications, despite the selection standards having been stiffly set by the Japanese Swimming Federation (JASF).

Katushiro Matsumoto kicked things off with a Fukuoka-worthy swim in the men’s 200m freestyle, hitting a time of 1:44.98 for gold.

Opening in 50.85 and closing in 54.13, Matsumoto beat the field by well over 2 seconds en route to topping the podium. Hidenari Mano touched in 1:47.55 as tonight’s silver medalist while Taikan Tanaka rounded out the top 3 in 1:47.67.

Of note, Daiya Seto, yesterday’s 400m IM king, competed in the morning heats where he placed 5th in 1:48.86 before dropping the final.

As for Matsumoto, his outing here surpasses his previous season-best of 1:45.88 logged last November. The 26-year-old now joins Korea’s Hwang Sunwoo as the only swimmers to have dipped under the 1:45-second threshold this season.

After the race, Matsumoto told deckside media, “I’m happy because I overcame the hard training to achieve this time. For the first time in a long time, I’m allowing myself to say that I did well. But I want to step it up so I can win a medal at the World Championships this summer.”

Reona Aoki turned heads in the women’s 100m breaststroke tonight as the 28-year-old fired off the 2nd fastest time of her career.

Aoki stopped the clock in a super swift result of 1:05.89 to top the podium, dipping under the JASF-mandated qualification time of 1:06.79 in the process. Runner-up status went to Satomi Suzuki who just missed the World Championships QT in 1:06.88 while Yukino Miyasaka claimed bronze in 1:07.65.

Opening in 30.74 and bringing it home in 35.15, Aoki’s time tonight sits second only to her own Japanese national record of 1:05.19 she produced at last year’s World Trials. In Budapest, Aoki ultimately finished in 5th place with a result of 1:06.38, while her time tonight would have snagged the silver medal in that final.

Aoki now takes over the world rankings, beating Dutch ace Tes Schouten who has also been under the 1:06 barrier this season with her 1:05.92 from last month’s Giant Open.

Additional Winners

• We reported how 33-year-old Ryosuke Irie bagged his 10th consecutive national title in the men’s 100m backstroke. His winning time of 53.46 qualified him for his 8th World Championships appearance.
• Rio Shirai topped the women’s 100m back podium, although her winning effort of 1:00.18 fell just short of the 59.99 needed for Fukuoka.
• The men’s 50m breast saw Yuya Hinomoto get it done for gold, although he needed to get under 26.96 to make the Worlds squad.