Swimming

Key Swimmer Entries For March’s Japanese Olympic Trials

February 23, 2024

2024 JAPANESE OLYMPIC TRIALS

Sunday, March 17th – Sunday, March 24th
Tokyo Aquatics Center
LCM (50m)
Japan’s Olympic Selection Criteria
Entries

Olympic Trials season is about to get underway, beginning with Japan’s sole qualification opportunity for Paris 2024 kicking off next month in Tokyo.

Usually held in April, the Japan Swim/Olympic Trials are instead slated for March 17th through March 24th at the Tokyo Aquatics Center, site of swimming action at the 2020 Olympic Games.

We reported how, just as in years past, the Japanese Swimming Federation (JASF) has set relatively stiff selection time standards for its Olympic hopefuls. The top two finals finishers in each event need to get within the thresholds shown below followed by the collective times needed for the top 4 finishers for relays.

Individual Qualifying Times (see column III below) for Japanese Swimmers for 2024 Olympic Games

Relay Qualifying Times (see column III below) for Japanese Swimmers for 2024 Olympic Games

We will present the top races and significant storylines as we get closer to the main event; however, in the meantime, we’ve pointed out key entries on both the women’s and men’s sides to get excitement brewing.

As a refresher, Japan sent 33 swimmers to its home-based Games in 2021 (although still referred to as the 2020 Olympic Games) but the nation came away with just 3 medals. Yui Ohashi grabbed gold in both the women’s 200m and 400m IM races while Tomoru Honda reaped silver in the men’s 200m fly.

More recently, the nation sent 12 swimmers to the just-concluded World Championships in Doha, Qatar, with Honda taking gold in the men’s 200m fly. Daiya Seto also earned bronze in the men’s 400m IM.

The small roster was because Trials are just a handful of weeks away, meaning the likes of Ryosuke Irie, Rikako Ikee and Ippei Watanabe preferred to remain in their training blocks.

Key Women’s Entries