Speedo Performance of the Week, Presented by Pace Club: Kosuke Hagino’s Record-Breaking 200 IM

PHOENIX, Arizona, September 9. WITH the Asian Games just a couple of weeks away, it might have been a bit of a surprise to see Kosuke Hagino lower his Japanese and Asian records in the long course 200 IM on Saturday at the Japanese Intercollegiate Championships. But that’s what most of the top Japanese swimmers do. They put up fast times consistently throughout the season, often using smaller meets as prime racing opportunities.

Hagino’s 1:55.33 is only a lifetime best for the 20-year-old by five hundredths of a second, but every little bit counts. He opened up with a 24.89 in the butterfly, then a 28.72 in the backstroke leg. A 33.80 on the breaststroke kept him 13 hundredths ahead of his previous best, and a 27.92 freestyle was enough to give him the new personal best, and new records.

Hagino is creeping closer to getting into the very exclusive club of the top 10 performances of all time in the 200 IM. Only Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps belong in that club, but Hagino only has to drop five tenths of a second in order to get there. His swim on Saturday made him the fourth-fastest performer in history behind Lochte, Phelps and Laszlo Cseh, with Lochte and Phelps the only ones in history under 1:55.

Though we’re counting the 200 IM as the Performance of the Week, it should be noted that Hagino nearly posted lifetime bests in the 100 back and 200 free last weekend. Whether it was the weather or other reasons, Hagino was not this fast at the Pan Pacific championships, but it looks like he’s on his way to having a great week at the Asian Games. Shukuji, Kosuke. You’ve won the Speedo Performance of the Week!

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