Japanese swimming championship.

The men's 400-meter individual medley on the first day was won by Daiya Seto, who has already decided on a national team at the adult world championship and is aiming for the gold medal of the Olympics.

Decreased motivation due to postponement of the Tokyo Olympics.

Over the past year, the competition environment and personal life have shaken significantly, including the loss of trust and sponsorship from those around us due to our own women's problems.



In December of last year, when he was suspended from activities, Seto was conducting a time trial that could be called the "one-man Japan Championship" in line with the Japan Championship that he could not participate in.



The place is Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center, which is a few minutes walk from the venue where the Japan Championships were held.

I swam with almost the same schedule and time zone for the third event I was planning to enter.



The result was 4: 15.50 in the most important 400-meter individual medley. If he participated in the Japan Championships in December, he would be third in the final.

The 200-meter butterfly finished fifth in the final, and the 200-meter individual medley failed to qualify.



Seto, who hadn't been able to practice for a while due to the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics and couldn't enter the pool for nearly a month due to women's problems, had lost the physical strength to swim 400 meters and the endurance to endure the final stage.



Coach Ruichiro Ura, who measured the time, had no choice but to accept that "starting from here".



After that, when I returned to the actual battle in February, I camp for a month in Nagano prefecture and swam thoroughly.

Seto revealed about the period, "I tried to find out what I was missing and built up my strength. I was not impatient at all."

In the return match in February, he expressed his condition as "40% of the original", but even at this tournament, he is still unconvinced with about "70%".



However, Seto said, "The time of 4: 09.02 at 70% gives me confidence for the summer," he said after the race.