Rikako Ikee Earns Ticket To Rio At Day Two Japanese Nationals

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Photo Courtesy: Singapore Swimming Federation

Day two of the 2016 Japanese Nationals continued with veterans and new-comers alike earning tickets to Rio.

Kosuke Hagino maintained his spot at the top of the leaderboard in the men’s 200-meter free, clocking a 1:46.28 to be the only swimmer under 1:47 in semi-finals. Hagino’s time was just shy of the Japanese Olympic standard of 1:46.10, however his fastest time this season was a 1:46.14 from the Konami Open earlier this year. Currently, he sits as the second fastest in the world behind Velimir Stjepanovic (1:46.10).

Takeshi Matsuda, a specialist in the 200-meter fly, shaved a second off his prelims time of 1:48.29 to finish second in semi’s of the men’s 200 free with a time of 1:47.19. Naito Ehara finished third with a 1:47.92.

Similar to Hagino Chihiro Igarashi, the 400-meter free winner from day one, kept her spot at the top of the women’s 200-meter free in semi-finals with a time of 1:58.89. Sachi Mochida turned in a final time of 1:59.33 for second, while Tomomi Aoiki clocked a 1:59.38 to grab third. Three other competitors finished with sub-two-minute times, including teen Rikako Ikee, but all of the competitors sit just behind the Olympic standard of 1:56.82.

The women’s 100-meter breaststroke was the only event of the night which hosts an Olympic standard (1:06.87) slower than the Japanese National Record (1:05.88 set by Kanako Watanabe in 2014). Rie Kaneto, who led the competition in prelims, added to her time of 1:06.91 to finish semi’s with a 1:07.15. This time addition caused her to slip to third for finals. Watanabe climbed to first with a time of 1:07.03, shaving over half a second from her prelims time of 1:07.79. Satomi Suzuki clocked a close second at 1:07.08.

Ryosuke Irie, the Japanese National Record holder for 100-meter back, posted the top time in semi’s of the 100 back with a time of 53.31. Not only did Irie succeed in shaving time off his prelims time of 53.90, but his swim sets him up nicely to qualify for his fourth Olympic Games as he finished under the Japanese Olympic standard of 53.49.

Junya Koga of Club Wolverine moved up in semi’s of the 100 back to stop the clock at 53.49, dead even with the Japanese Olympic standard, while Masaki Kaneko rounded out the top three with a time of 53.95.

After flying to a new Japanese National Record of 57.55 in yesterday’s semi-finals of the women’s 100-meter fly, Rikako Ikee turned in a first-place finish with a 57.71 in finals qualifying her for her first Olympic Games. Her National Record sits at eighth in the world rankings for 2016, while her 57.71 from finals also falls within the top 20. Natsumi Hoshi, the 200-meter fly World Champion from Kazan, posted a final time of 58.60 to finish second overall, while Suzuka Hasegawa delivered a 58.71 for third and the bronze medal.

Japanese breaststroke legend and National Record holder in the men’s 100-meter breast, Kosuke Kitajima, slipped from first to second in finals of the 100 breast with a time of 59.93 to finish with another sub-minute time. Kitajima posted a 59.62 in prelims.

Koseki Yasuhiro delivered the top time in the men’s 100 breaststroke with a time of 59.66, just shy of the 59.63 qualifying standard. Despite winning the title and posting a 59.67 earlier this year in the 100 breaststroke, Yasuhiro’s inclusion on the roster for Rio will fall to the decision of the Japanese Swimming Federation.

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