Swimming

Terada Hits 1:55.92 200 Fly, Honda Bounces Back During Day 4 Heats of Japanese Olympic Trials

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By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam

2024 JAPANESE OLYMPIC TRIALS

We’re nearly halfway through the 2024 Japanese Olympic Trials, and the fourth day of prelims showcased the men’s 200 butterfly, men’s 100 freestyle, women’s 1500 freestyle, women’s 100 freestyle, and men’s 200 breaststroke.

All of the events mentioned above, with the exception of the women’s 1500 free, will feature semifinals later today. Finals of the women’s 100 back and men’s 800 free will also take place tonight, with the women’s 1500 free final scheduled for Thursday evening.

26-year-old Takumi Terada (1:55.92) claimed victory in the final heat of the men’s 200 fly, touching in the only sub-1:56 time. Terada owns a best time of 1:54.81 in this event, a time he put on the books at the 2023 Japanese National Championships, which took place in early April of 2023.

Tomoru Honda, the newly-minted World Champion in the event from just last month, touched 2nd in the heat at 1:56.37. Earlier in the week, Honda missed the 400 IM final with a 10th place finish in prelims, despite having a sub-4:10 best time.

Honda has been as swift as 1:52.70 in this fly distance, and won the 2024 world title with a time of 1:53.88. His lifetime best sits right outside Daiya Seto‘s national record of 1:52.53. Honda swam with a sprained ankle at February’s World Championship meet, before ultimately pulling out of the meet entirely after his gold medal-winning 200 fly.

Terada and Honda will move into the semifinals as the top two seeds, and Japan’s Olympic qualifying time of 1:55.27 will certainly be on their mind once the final rolls around. National record holder Seto checked-in at 5th overall, advancing safely with his 1:57.62 clocking. Despite placing 2nd during Monday’s 400 IM final, Seto missed the Japanese Olympic qualifying standard by 0.19, so he has not officially made the Olympic team yet.

The men’s 100 free saw 15 swimmers break the 50-second barrier, with Reo Sakata leading the way in a new best time of 49.14. The-28-year-old’s previous best was set nearly a decade ago, when he touched the wall in 49.28 at the Japan Collegiate Championships.

Katsuhiro Matsumoto recorded the 2nd fastest effort of the morning in 49.32, and he’s been as quick as 47.85 in his career. He already booked his ticket to Paris via a 1st place finish in the 200 free, where he hit the qualifying time in 1:45.29.

Look for Matsumoto in the 100 fly later in the week too, where he owns a sub-51 time of 50.96. Though unrelated to this prelims session, that race looks to be a real scorcher, with national record holder Naoki Mizunuma (50.81), Takeshi Kawamoto (51.00), and Shinnosuke Ishikawa (51.11) among the deep field.

Longtime contributor to the Japanese National Team, 30-year-old Katsumi Nakamura (49.44), sits in 5th heading into semifinals. He was the previous national record holder with his 47.87 outing at the 2018 Kosuke Kitajima Cup, but Matsumoto has since lowered it to 47.85. Of note, the Japanese Olympic standard sits at 47.97.

The fastest two 1500 freestyle times for the women took place in heat two, where 27-year-old Yukimi Moriyama (16:16.39) outpaced 22-year-old Airi Ebina (16:17.75) by just over a second. Abina’s swim represents a new personal best while Moriyama put up a time of 16:13.74 back in 2019.

In the women’s 100 free, Rikako Ikee was the sole representative under the 55-second barrier. She logged a morning effort of 54.74, and her lifetime best rests as the 52.79 that she produced at the 2018 Kosuke Kitajima Cup. Ikee is already qualified to represent Japan in Paris, as she notched a qualification time en route to 2nd place in the 100 fly.

Nagisa Ikemoto was the closest pursuer to Ikee this morning, touching in 55.00. Ikemoto clocked a time of 54.11 last August, which still stands as her best time.

The men’s 200 breast capped off the session, and it might be the most competitive event of the meet. Three of the four fastest performers in Japanese history are competing this week:

  1. Shoma Sato – 2:06.40, 2021
  2. Ippei Watanabe – 2:06.67, 2017
  3. Akihiro Yamaguchi – 2:07.01, 2012
  4. Yamato Fukasawa – 2:07.07, 2024

This morning, it was former world record holder Ippei Watanabe (2:10.40) who made his presence known, notching the fastest time heading into semifinals. National record holder Shoma Sato was next to Watanabe in the final heat, touching in 2:11.77 for 5th overall.

Rising star Yamato Fukasawa clocked-in at 2:10.86, the 2nd fastest performance of the session. He posted a time of 2:07.07 last month, which ranks him the 4th fastest performer in national history.

Yu Hanaguruma situated himself at 3rd overall, finishing in a time of 2:11.06. He owns a career-best of 2:07.99, which he put on the board at the 2022 World Championship Trials. Hanagura and Watanabe tied for 2nd in the 100 breast earlier this week, touching in equal 59.47s, ultimately missing the qualification standard of 59.26.

SwimSwam: Terada Hits 1:55.92 200 Fly, Honda Bounces Back During Day 4 Heats of Japanese Olympic Trials

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