Japanese National Sports Festival: Aya Terakawa Sets Japanese Record in 100 Back

CHIBA, Japan, September 11. DURING the first two days of long course meter action, Japan witnessed a national record taking a tumble at the Japanese National Sports Festival held in Chiba.

Aya Terakawa clipped the Japanese national record in the women's open 100 back event with a scorching time of 59.13. Not only did that effort clear the 59.14 set by Shiho Sakai at the World Championships last year, it nipped Emily Seebohm's 59.21 for the top time in the world this year. The 59.14 also ranks as the 19th-fastest swim in the event's history, putting Terakawa ninth on the all-time performers list. Her previous best had been a 59.41 from Pan Pacs. She split the swim 28.86/59.13. Sakai, meanwhile, settled for a distant second in 1:00.22, while Noriko Inada finished third in 1:01.94.

Keiko Fukodome lowered the meet record in the girls 17-18 200 breast with a winning time of 2:24.85. She improved from 24th in the world (2:26.81) to 13th overall.

Sayaka Akase set a meet record in the girls 17-18 200 back with a 2:09.07, moving up from 17th in the world ranking to 14th. Kuninori Tada topped the boys 17-18 200 back in 1:58.07 to jump into 21st in the world.

Takeshi Matsuda captured the men's open 400 free in 3:48.38, falling well short of his sixth-ranked season best of 3:46.59 set in April. Sho Uchida finished second in 3:51.04, while Shogo Hihara placed third in 3:54.90. Ryosuke Irie won the men's open 100 back in 53.64. He came up short of his fourth-ranked season best of 53.22 from the Japanese University meet last weekend. Masafumi Yamaguchi took second in 54.86, while Hiroki Shirai placed third in 55.27.

Ken Takakuwa set a meet record in the men's open 200 IM with a time of 1:59.93. He came up short of his eighth-ranked season best of 1:58.06 from Pan Pacs. Yuya Horihata took second in 2:00.74, while Takuro Fujii wound up third in 2:01.44.

Satomi Suzuki won the women's open 100 breast in 1:07.09, missing her sixth-ranked season best of 1:06.94 set at Pan Pacs. Fumiko Kawanabe (1:09.39) and Rie Kaneto (1:09.55) earned second and third. Ryo Tateishi set a meet record with a 1:00.23 in the men's open 100 breast. He touched shy of his third-ranked season best of 59.84 from April. Yuta Suenaga took second in 1:00.87, while Kouichiro Okazaki placed third in 1:01.70.

Kohei Kawamoto topped the men's open 100 fly in 52.49, coming up shy of his 19th-ranked season best of 52.37 from the Japan Open in June. Takashi Tomiyama touched second in 53.02, while Ippei Otsuka placed third in 53.10.

Yumi Kida won the women's open 400 free title in 4:12.80, while Yurie Yano took second in 4:13.22. Maiko Fujino earned third in 4:14.97. Tomoyo Fukuda snared the women's open 200 IM in 2:13.09. Izumi Kato (2:14.90) and Uchikoshi Masami (2:15.31) touched second and third.

Yuka Kato snagged the women's open 100 fly in 59.06. Fukuda finished second in 59.14, while Hiroko Sugino placed third in 1:00.01. Haruka Ueda won the women's open 100 free in 55.23. Yayoi Matsumoto (55.27) and Hanae Ito (55.40) completed the podium.

Shunsuke Kuzuhara claimed the men's open 100 free in 49.85 with Fujii taking second in 49.92. Matsuda wound up third in 50.35.

In age group action, Miki Uchida won the girls 15-16 100 free in 56.57, while Toru Maruyama earned the boys 15-16 100 free title in 51.16. Rino Hosada won the girls 15-16 100 fly in 59.00, while Daiya Seto claimed the boys 15-16 100 fly in 53.77. Masaya Kano topped the boys 17-18 200 breast in 2:14.42.

Miho Takahasi snagged the girls 17-18 400 IM in 4:43.16, while Takeharu Fujimori won the boys 17-18 4000 IM. Marie Kamimura captured the girls 15-16 100 back in 1:01.22, while Kosuke Hagino posted a 55.24 for the win in the boys 15-16 100 back. Risa Sekine earned the girls 17-18 100 free title in 56.19, while Takumi Ichikawa won the boys 17-18 100 free.

Uchida doubled up on the second day with a 25.92 to win the girls 15-16 50 free, while Toru Maruyama set a Japanese junior high school record with a 23.53 in the boys 15-16 50 free. Eri Ohishi topped the girls 17-18 200 fly in 2:12.15, while Yuki Kobori garnered the boys 17-18 200 fly title in 1:57.55.

Special thanks to Takahisa Ide for contributing to this report.

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