The 2024 Mare Nostrum Series is nearly upon us with action kicking off in Canet beginning on May 26th, followed by stops in Barcelona (May 29th-May 30th) and Monaco (June 1st-June 2nd).
We’ve been previewing the high-profile athletes set to participate as their entries have been revealed, including Freya Anderson and Tom Dean of Great Britain, Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden and Kristof Milak of Hungary.
A handful of Japanese athletes are also set to race across the 3-stop competition, including 2020 Olympic Games silver medalist and reigning 200m fly world champion Tomoru Honda.
22-year-old Honda qualified to represent Japan at this summer’s Olympic Games in his signature 200m fly and says he will use the Mare Nostrum competition as a trial of sorts for the main event in Paris.
“We’ll see to what extent our swimming ability and physical strength have returned. The rest will be based on competition experience. I hope this will be a good rehearsal before the Olympics,” Japan’s national champion told Nikkan Sports.
Specifying what he’ll need to work on before the Games, Honda said, “The thing I should be most concerned about is my diet.
“I think they prepare a variety of meals in Paris, but it’s definitely different from Japan. It’s up to you to adapt to that.”
Although Honda missed qualifying for the Olympics in the men’s 400m IM, he intends on continuing to race the grueling event during Mare Nostrum. “It will help improve my competitiveness.” (Nikkan Sports)
Honda’s primary competitors in the men’s 200m fly include Hungarian Olympic champion Kristof Milak, although the 24-year-old’s training consistency has been called into question recently.
Swiss Olympic medalist Noe Ponti, Japanese teammate and fellow Olympic qualifier Genki Terakado, and Italy’s Alberto Razzetti also comprise his list of rivals who have already secured qualification for Paris.
On the American front, we’ll have to wait until next month’s Trials to see who will score an Olympic bid, but Trenton Julian, Luca Urlando, Carson Foster, Thomas Heilman and Chase Kalisz may be among the two who nail a berth on the stars n’ stripes roster.