Daiya Seto was 4th and Kosuke Hagino was 6th in the finals of the men's 200m individual medley at the Tokyo Olympics, and neither of them won medals.
Seto, who was expected to win a medal but was so unsuccessful, advanced to the final for the first time in this tournament in the third men's 200m individual medley.
In the final race, he turned back the 100-meter turn in 7th place, then moved up in the subsequent breaststroke and became 3rd in the final turn.
Although he showed tenacity in the freestyle, he was only 0.05 behind the 3rd place player and finished 4th at 1'56.22.
In addition, Hagino, who won the silver medal for the first time in this event in the previous Rio de Janeiro tournament, jumped up in the backstroke and was in a good position with 3rd place in the 100-meter turn, but there has been no growth since then. I was 6th at 1:57:49.
Daiya Seto "Best in the current conditions"
Seto said, "I imagined a better result myself, and I've been doing my best so far, so I wanted to win a medal at the end, but I was able to do my best in the current conditions." rice field.
Before the race, he said "Goo Touch" with Kosuke Hagino, "It was very encouraging. It's a pity that we couldn't win the medal, but it was a happier time than that." I was talking with a facial expression.
Regarding the future, he said, "I haven't been able to give back to the results this time because I'm still in competition, but I'll do my best so that I can swim again."
Seto's favorite 400m defeated in qualifying
Seto finished 4th in the men's 200m individual medley final, which was the last of the third event he participated in.
I finished the second Olympics without getting a medal.
This tournament was aimed at winning multiple medals, including gold medals, but after losing the qualifying in the 400-meter individual medley, which was the favorite on the first day of the competition, the gears went crazy at once.
The 400-meter individual medley is the event closest to the gold medal in the competition, such as being ranked at the top of the world ranking this year, and we have aimed at this event to strengthen the endurance to swim through the final stage.
Then, with the momentum of winning the gold medal first, it was a strategy to look for the podium in the remaining second event, which requires more speed.
Not the second Olympic medal
However, in the first race, he couldn't advance to the final, let alone the gold medal, and he fell into a situation where the time did not increase as expected in the subsequent races, and he deepened his impatience, saying, "I'm not sure because I've passed the regret."
In this tournament, I decided to secure a base near the venue without entering the Olympic Village, and I tried to concentrate on my own race with the support staff who gathered by calling out to me, but I could not correct the trajectory.
In the final event, the 200-meter individual medley, we received advice on swimming and racing from coaches accompanying the national team, such as coach Takayuki Umehara, who asked for guidance until last year. I advanced to the final for the first time in this tournament.
However, although the 200m individual medley won the gold medal at the 2019 world championship, the speed was not sufficiently strengthened and it was ranked 11th in the world ranking.
Even in the final, he did not reach the medal, and he ended the second Olympic Games without a medal.
Kosuke Hagino "I did my best in the final race"
Hagino said, "I remembered a lot of things before I swam. I was happy to be able to swim with Seto because I could swim with him many times. Even if the time is late, I will do my best in the final race. I've been out, so I can't be happier anymore. "
With the thoughts of Kosuke Hagino
The third Olympic Games, when the gold medalist of the last Rio de Janeiro Games arrived through a long and painful tunnel, is over.
Kosuke Hagino swam with all his heart in the final race of the men's 200m individual medley.
The reason for the semi-final tears
It was just before the semi-final race on the 29th.
Heinz, a German player who swims in the next lane, will speak to you.
"Let's swim together in the final at the end."
The rival, who has been competing for about 10 years, told Hagino that he intends to retire.
As a result, Hagino advanced to the final and Heinz lost the semi-final.
After finishing the swim, Heinz said, "It was a good trip," while praising Hagino's good fight.
For a while, I couldn't control the tears that spilled over my rivals' journey and my own steps.
"I want to express my life by swimming"
The five years since I won the gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Games have been a series of difficult days as a player.
A scalpel was placed in the injured right elbow, and the adult rested for three months due to extreme stagnation.
I was retired from active duty, but I came back to the pool.
On the other hand, in my private life, I got married and had a daughter and became a father.
Hagino recalls, "It was a rugged five years."
And the stage called the Olympics where I was able to stand again.
"Five years ago, I only saw gold medals, and I was pursuing only that," says Hagino. "I've come to want to express my life not only by results, but by swimming."
With all that thought in mind, I went to the final race.
The result is 6th.
I didn't win medals for three consecutive tournaments, but the battle that challenged me to "want to put out my strength" was over.
Rivals of the same age This time in a difficult battle
The men's 200m individual medley for swimming was the 26th of the 35 events, and was the first event in which two Japanese athletes advanced to the final.
Daiya Seto and Kosuke Hagino have both been attracting attention as rivals of the same year born in 1994.
Japan national team coach Norimasa Hirai says, "I feel like it's an individual medley when the two of us are together."
The first time they swam in the same race was in elementary school, a national tournament that they participated in when they were nine years old.
At that time, Hagino was overwhelmingly fast, and Seto looked back at the time and said, "I was above the clouds."
The relationship between the two changed in 2013 at the World Championships, both of which were their first appearances. In the men's 400m individual medley final, Seto won the gold medal over Hagino.
Hagino also burned with the rise of rivals. At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Hagino won the gold medal and Seto won the bronze medal.
The Olympics, which were faced by two people who pulled the Japanese swimming team while enhancing each other, were forced into a difficult battle.
Hagino gave up the challenge of the 400-meter individual medley, which would take consecutive championships, and focused on the 200-meter individual medley, but he did not improve until just before the tournament.
Seto, on the other hand, suffered a rainy qualifying defeat in the men's 400-meter individual medley on the first day of the competition aiming for a gold medal, and even after that he could not break the bad tide.
Even so, both of them managed to recover, and in the final race they arrived at, Seto said, "I want to enjoy the game," while Hagino said, "I'm happy to be able to swim with Daiya."