Japan National Sports Festival: Ryosuke Irie Clocks Swift Relay Leadoff

By Hideki Mochizuki, Swimming World Japanese correspondent

NAGAOKA, Niigata, Japan, September 13. THE final day of the Japan National Sports Festival featured another consistent swim by Ryosuke Irie.

Irie clocked a 52.50 in the leadoff leg of the Osaka 400 medley relay squad that won in 3:33.44. Junya Koga posted a 53.98 leadoff leg for his squad.

Other notable swims from the final day came from the junior high students. Kosuke Hagina, 15, of Sakushin Junior High broke the national junior high record with a 1:59.26 in the 200 IM.

Meanwhile, Akihiro Yamaguchi, 15, turned in a 1:02.35 in the men's 100 breast to set another national junior high standard.

In Japan, there is a deep network of private swim clubs nationwide that carry the responsibility of developing young swimmers from primary school to high school. Records at young ages are relatively fast in global context, but there has been pointed out that the transition from high school to college in the country is very weak.

Other individual winners were:

* A= Junior and senior highschool, B=senior at Junior high and freshmen at high school
Men
400 free (B): Yuki Kobori, 3:54.27
400 free (A): Junpei Higashi, 3:51.29
100 breast (B): Masaya Kano, 1:01.55
50 free (A): Shinri Shioura, 22.83
50 free: Kenta Ito, 22.49
200 IM (B): Kosuke Hagino, 1:59.26

Women
400 free (A+B): Natsuki Akiyama, 4:14.54
100 breast(B): Keiko Fukudome, 1:08.30
50 free (A): Shiori Kaneko, 25.69
50 free: Tomoko Hagiwara, 25.24
200 IM (B): Masako Kuroki, 2:14.61

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