On the 18th, the second day of the competition to select representatives for the Paris Olympic swimming competition, the finals of the women's 100m butterfly and men's 400m individual medley will be held, and all eyes will be on whether the first representatives will be selected for the competition.
NHK will broadcast the race on general television and stream it on NHK Plus.
[Complete results of the first day of the tournament] Rikako Ikee advances to the finals in 1st place
The competition held at the Tokyo Aquatics Center in Koto-ku, Tokyo, is held to select representatives for the Paris Olympics. If you fall within this range, you will be selected to represent the individual event.
On the 18th, the second day of the tournament, finals were held in four events, including non-Olympic events. Among these, in the women's 100m butterfly, Rikako Ikee, the Japanese record holder for this event, won in the semifinals after recovering from leukemia. It will be interesting to see if she will be able to set her personal best time after her return and finish first overall, earning her a place on the national team in the individual event for the first time in two tournaments.
In addition, Mizuki Hirai, a 17-year-old high school student who is rapidly growing, made it through the semi-finals with a good time and finished in 2nd place.This rising star has been rapidly improving her time since the start of this year, and is aiming to participate in her first Olympics.
In addition, in the men's 400m individual medley, Daiya Seto, who won the bronze medal in this event at last month's World Championships, and 18-year-old Tomoyuki Matsushita are also aiming for a spot on the national team.
On the first day of the tournament, there was no official offer to represent the team, and all eyes will be on whether there will be a first official offer on the 18th to secure a ticket to the Paris Olympics.
NHK will broadcast the race on general television and stream it on NHK Plus.
[Commentary by Kosuke Hagino] “One shot strength” Ikee or “rising star” Hirai?
The hotly anticipated women's 100m butterfly final is likely to be a battle centered around Rikako Ikee, who holds the Japanese record for this event and set good times in both the preliminary and semi-finals, and Mizuki Hirai, a young woman on the rise. .
Rikako Ikee
Kosuke Hagino, a gold medalist at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and a commentator on the NHK broadcast of this year's event, said of Ikee, ``It will be a challenging race for her. To be honest, you won't be able to make it to the national team if you don't perform well,'' he said, emphasizing that this is not an easy competition for the national team.
He added, ``There are things that Ikee has accumulated up until now, and his strength is his one-shot shot when it matters most.'' He has high hopes for Ikee, who set a good time in the semifinals and shows that he is in good condition. Ta.
His opponent is 17-year-old Hirai.
At last month's domestic tournament, she used her powerful kicks to set a time of 57.08 seconds, which is below the dispatch standard record.
Regarding Hirai, who says that he wants to surpass the Japanese record set by Ikee, whom he respects, Hagino said, ``He has speed and is actually fast at crawling.I think Hirai will be strong due to the momentum of young players, but there are other things like that. I wonder how much enthusiasm these athletes with a proven track record will be able to race in the finals,'' he said, pointing out that the competition between the established racers centered around Ikee and Hirai and the young racers will be a focus of attention.