The Japan Championships in Swimming, which will be the representative selection for the Tokyo Olympics, has begun.
In the final after 5 pm, Yui Ohashi won the women's 400-meter individual medley.
Second place is 17-year-old Akaha Tanigawa, both of whom broke the standard dispatch record set by the Japan Swimming Federation and were appointed as representatives of the Tokyo Olympics in this event.
In addition, Daiya Seto won the men's 400-meter individual medley.
In second place was Yuki Ikari, who broke the standard dispatch record set by the Japan Swimming Federation and was appointed as the representative of the Tokyo Olympics in this event.
Representative unofficial decision Ohashi "Purely very happy"
Yui Ohashi, who won the women's 400-meter individual medley final and was nominated for the Tokyo Olympics in this event, said, "I'm really happy to be an Olympic athlete. I'm not satisfied with the time and I'm nervous. I think it's a little harder, so I'd like to strengthen various aspects, including practice, so that I can exert my strength in the summer performance. "
Also, regarding the women's 200-meter individual medley scheduled to participate on the 5th, I was enthusiastic that "I think there will be many rivals in the melee. I will do my best to show what I have done and to do my best."
Yui Ohashi is 25 years old from Shiga prefecture.
It features a large stroke that makes use of long limbs and a stretchy swim with little resistance to water.
Under the guidance of Japan national team head coach Norimasa Hirai, he has improved his record by doing almost the same practice as the boy Kosuke Hagino.
In the 2017 Japan Championships, which he celebrated in his fourth year at university, he won the first championship in Japan's new record, which set a new record of 3 seconds or more in the 400-meter individual medley.
In the 200-meter individual medley of the 2017 World Championship, which was his first appearance, he won a silver medal in a new record in Japan and became a presence that attracted attention at once.
As the captain of the Japanese women's swimming team, he won the bronze medal in the 400-meter individual medley at the 2019 World Championship, and continues to grow toward winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, which will be his first appearance.
Tanikawa "Olympic Games was a dream"
Akaha Tanikawa is from Osaka prefecture.
A 17-year-old third-year high school student specializing in individual medley.
In addition to the butterfly and freestyle that he is good at, he has been strengthening his strength by working on strengthening his backstroke, and finished second in the women's 400-meter individual medley of the Japan Championship last December.
Tanikawa turned back in 2nd place after Yui Ohashi in the first half, and was overtaken by Sakiko Shimizu, who is good at breaststroke in the second half, but in the end it turned around in freestyle.
It was a race of conscience that greatly shortened the personal best time marked in September to 1 second 59.
Tanikawa said with a smile, "I haven't realized the offer yet, and I feel that it hasn't been accepted. I'm happy that the Olympics have been a dream since I started swimming, so I'm happy to make it happen."
Daiya Seto "Gold medal on the first day in production"
Daiya Seto, who won the men's 400-meter individual medley, is 26 years old from Saitama prefecture.
In addition to an individual medley that competes for the total power of four swims, he is a world-class player with a Japanese record of 200 meters in his favorite butterfly stroke.
Kosuke Hagino, a rival of the same year, won the gold medal in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics for the first time, and Kosuke Hagino finished in bronze in the 400-meter individual medley, but he won the second individual medley in the adult world championship and was the only Japanese swimmer. The person has been appointed as the representative of the Tokyo Olympics.
In January of last year, even the 200-meter butterfly broke the Japanese record for the first time in 12 years, but the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics turned around and suffered a decline in motivation.
When the women's problem was reported in September last year, the contract was canceled by the affiliation, and the activity was temporarily suspended by the Japan Swimming Federation.
The disposition was lifted and I was back in action in February.
In this tournament, Seto won the championship by showing an aggressive stance in the final, although he was "in the original 70% condition".
I was conscious of the actual race of the Tokyo Olympics.
American Chase Kalisz, who is expected to be his biggest rival when Seto is aiming for a gold medal, is good at catching up in the second half with breaststroke and freestyle as a weapon.
On the other hand, Seto took the lead from the beginning with his favorite butterfly, and at the end he aimed for a race where he could run away.
Therefore, Seto himself imposed "less than 2 minutes" in the first half of the time.
Even if I run out of physical strength at the end of the race and take the risk of losing time at once, I attacked from the beginning and tried to race back in the first half with a time faster than 2 minutes.
In this final, the first half was turned back at 1'59.55, and at the end, the pace slowed down and although it did not reach the target of 4 minutes and 8 seconds, it finished at the top.
After the race, Seto said, "If the Tokyo Olympics are held in the summer, I think it is a gratitude to get good results there. In the actual performance, I want to win the gold medal on the first day of the tournament and create a flow for the Japanese national team." I was talking.
Representative unofficial decision Ikari "I don't feel the stage of my dreams"
Yuki Ikari, who is second in the men's 400-meter individual medley, is 20 years old from Ehime prefecture and specializes in individual medley.
In the individual medley, two Olympic medalists, Kosuke Hagino and Daiya Seto, have long occupy the top position in Japan, but at 400 meters, they will work hard until they set the second fastest time in Japan after Seto. I have come.
With the tenacity of the latter half, which makes the best use of his strong backstroke and kick strength, he has improved his strength since last year and has aimed to become the first Olympic representative.
Ikari, who finished second in the final and was nominated for the Tokyo Olympics in this event, said, "I was aiming for less than 4 minutes and 10 seconds, so it's a little short, but I was able to concentrate on my race and win the tentative. I'm glad, "he said with a relieved expression.
After the race, he said with a smile, "I'm just tired. I'm getting tired because I don't feel it at all, so I can't afford to feel joy."
Then, looking back on the race, he said, "I thought I would definitely be able to get ahead of the players in the next lane by backstroke, so I thought I would definitely protect it. After this race, I couldn't do anything about it. I swam with my thoughts. "
When asked what it meant, Ikari said with a smile, "I'm trying to get enthusiastic and try to make it as light as possible."
He said to the Tokyo Olympics, "I don't feel like I was selected as a representative because of the dream stage I've been watching on TV for a long time, but I want to continue to strengthen it until the actual performance."
Ikari has continued to challenge the high wall of Hagino, who is 6 years older, and Seto.
As Hagino missed this event in this Japan Championship, Ikari, who has the best time after Seto in Japan, was required to do his best.
Ikari saved his strength in the morning qualifying and passed in 7th place overall, and after returning to 2nd place in the first half in the afternoon final, he showed tenacity by taking advantage of the strength of the kick in the second half and set his personal best. I marked it.
Ikari, who said that he had made a buzz cut to make his body lighter the day before the race, said that Seto, who had decided on a representative appointment earlier, said, "It's an insanely amazing existence. I've been talking about working hard together from before." On top of that, I was enthusiastic about the Olympics for the first time, saying, "I want to play an active role even for those who cannot go to the Olympics. I want to compete for medals."