2016 Japan Open: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

2016 JAPAN OPEN

• Friday, May 20th-22nd
• Tokyo, Japan
• Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center
• Prelims: 9:30 AM Local Time / 8:30 PM Eastern (the day before)
• Finals: 4:00 PM Local Time / 3:00 AM Eastern (the day of)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets (in Japanese)
• Live Results (English)
• Meet Preview

The final day of the Japan Open will get going tonight (morning in Japan), with all of the big names in attendance competing. This prelims session includes the 200 IM, 50 back, 50 free, 100 fly, and the 200 breast. Big names competing include Kosuke Hagino, Daiya Seto, Cameron McEvoy, James Magnussen, and the Campbell sisters, Cate and Bronte.

Women’s 200 IM Prelims

• Japanese Record: 2:08.45

1. Kanako Watanabe, 2:13.05
2. Sakiko Shimizu, 2:13.39
3. Miho Teramura, 2:13.83
4. Yui Ohhashi, 2:13.90
5. Miho Takahashi, 2:14.30
6. Rika Oomoto, 2:14.60
7. Hiroko Makino, 2:15.08
8. Runa Imai, 2:15.28

Kanako Watanabe posted the top time in the women’s 200 IM prelims, clocking 2:13.05 for the top seed heading into finals. Watanabe used her specialty, the breaststroke, to pull away from the field. The multi-talented Sakiko Shimizu qualified 2nd in 2:13.39, and Miho Teramura was also under 2:14 in 2:13.83.

Men’s 200 IM Prelims

• Japanese Record: 1:55.07

1. Kosuke Hagino, 1:59.39
2. Juran Mizohata, 2:01.64
3. Daiya Seto, 2:01.73
4. Hiroya Yamada, 2:01.81
5. Takeharu Fujimori, 2:02.11
6. Keita Sunama, 2:02.46
7. Takahiro Tutumi, 2:02.64
8. Meguru Hotta, 2:02.70

Not surprisingly Kosuke Hagino led the 200 IM prelims in 1:59.39, the only man under two minutes. Juran Mizohata qualified 2nd in 2:01.64, and Daiya Seto qualified 3rd in 2:01.73. Seto will take on his third straight double on day three, competing in the 200 breast later.

Women’s 50 Back Prelims

• Japanese Record: 27.51

1. Emi Moronuki, 28.26
2. Stephanie Au, 28.58
3. Kaylee McKeown, 28.68
4. Mayuko Mori, 28.94
5. Belinda Hocking, 28.96
6. Masumi Takaba, 28.99
7. Miki Takahashi, 29.07
8. Mao Yamaguchi, 29.22

Emi Moronuki led the 50 back prelims in 28.26, followed closely by Stephanie Au (28.58) and Kaylee McKeown (28.68). 200 back winner from yesterday Belinda Hocking qualified 5th overall in 28.96.

Men’s 50 Back Prelims

• Japanese Record: 24.24

1. Joshua Beaver, 25.57
2. Masaki Kaneko, 25.69
3. Junya Hasegawa, 25.70
4. Syunichi Nakao, 25.74
5. Takashi Morinaga, 25.80
6. Junki Yasuda, 25.81
7. Hiroki Sakurai, 25.90
8. Meguru Hotta, 26.20*
9. Tooru Maruyama, 26.20*

Australian Joshua Beaver led the men’s 50 back in 25.57, just over a tenth ahead of 2nd place Masaki Kaneko. Meguru Hotta and Tooru Maruyama tied for 8th in 26.20, and will likely swim-off for the last spot.

Women’s 50 Free Prelims

• Japanese Record: 24.74

1. Cate Campbell, 24.65
2. Shayna Jack, 25.43
3. Bronte Campbell, 25.46
4. Miki Uchida, 25.68
5. Sayuki Ouchi, 25.76
6. Yayoi Matsumoto, 25.82
7. Syoko Tanabe, 25.83
8. Tomomi Aoki, 25.95

After a blistering 100 free on day 2 Cate Campbell kept the momentum going with the top 50 free of the morning, 24.65. Based on her form look for her to be close to the 24 second barrier in finals. The Aussies went 1-2-3, with Shayna Jack qualifying 2nd in 25.43 and Bronte Campbell 3rd in 25.46. Miki Uchida was the top Japanese qualifier, 4th in 25.68.

Men’s 50 Free Prelims

• Japanese Record: 21.88

1. Cameron McEvoy, 21.80
2. James Magnussen, 22.44
3. Junya Koga, 22.65
4. Matthew Abood, 22.69
5. Katsumi Nakamura, 22.70
6. Shinri Shioura, 22.76
7. Kazuki Kino, 22.91
8. William Stockwell, 22.98

Cameron McEvoy led a group of four Australians who qualified for the 50 free final, qualifying 1st overall in 21.80. James Magnussen qualified 2nd in 22.44, Matthew Abood 4th in 22.69, and William Stockwell 8th in 22.98. Former 100 back world champion Junya Koga was the top Japanese qualifier, 3rd in 22.65.

Women’s 100 Fly Prelims

• Japanese Record: 57.55

1. Natsumi Hoshi, 59.86
2. Tomoyo Fukuda, 1:00.00
3. Yukina Hirayama, 1:00.37
4. Miku Tamura, 1:00.39
5. Inoha Yamakawa, 1:00.41
6. Rikako Ikee, 1:00.42
7. Maia Nishimura, 1:00.46
8. Suzuka Hasegawa, 1:00.47

2015 200 fly world champion Natsumi Hoshi was the only woman under 1 minute in the women’s 100 fly prelims, clocking 59.86 for the top seed. The other qualifiers were all very tightly bunched, all within less than half a second. Tomoyo Fukuda qualified 2nd in 1:00.00, but the one to watch in the final will be Rikako Ikee, who qualified 6th in 1:00.42. Ikee won the 50 fly yesterday in 26.05, just missing the junior world record of 25.97.

Men’s 100 Fly Prelims

• Japanese Record: 51.00

1. Masayuki Umemoto, 53.12*
2. Naoki Mizunuma, 53.12*
3. Nao Horomura, 53.13
4. Takurou Fujii, 53.22
5. Masato Sakai, 53.27
6. Masashi Taguchi, 53.28
7. Takeshi Kawamoto, 53.36
8. Masayuki Kishida, 53.49

A tie for first between Masayuki Umemoto and Naoki Mizunuma sets up a very tight final where all eight qualifiers are within 0.37 of each other.

Women’s 200 Breast Prelims

• Japanese Record: 2:19.65

1. Rie Kaneto, 2:23.02
2. Kanako Watanabe, 2:26.54
3. Runa Imai, 2:27.18
4. Miho Takahashi, 2:27.21
5. Reona Aoki, 2:27.59
6. Satori Hosokoshi, 2:27.65
7. Shiori Asaba, 2:27.83
8. Sakiko Shimizu, 2:28.02

World #1 Rie Kaneto qualified well ahead of the pack in 2:23.02, while Kanako Watanabe made her second A-final of the morning qualifying 2nd in 2:26.54.

Men’s 200 Breast Prelims

• Japanese Record: 2:07.01

1. Yasuhiro Koseki, 2:10.49
2. Kazuki Watanabe, 2:11.26
3. Daiya Seto, 2:11.31
4. Ippei Watanabe, 2:11.35
5. Mamoru Mouri, 2:12.07
6. Hayato Watanabe, 2:12.08
7. Ippei Miyamoto, 2:12.22
8. Kohei Gotou, 2:12.40

Yasuhiro Koseki paced the prelims in 2:10.49, while Daiya Seto set himself up for another tough double at night qualifying 3rd in 2:11.31.