2020 JAPAN SWIM
- April 2nd – April 6th
- Tokyo Aquatics Centre, Tokyo, Japan
- 50m (LCM)
- Sole OLY qualifying competition for Japanese swimmers
- Japanese OLY Selection Procedures analysis
We reported how the 2020 Japan Swim, the meet which represents the nation’s sole Olympic qualifying meet, is still on, although without spectators and with revised dates. The meet was originally scheduled to span April 1st through April 8th but has since been reduced to the 2nd through the 6th, with the exact day-by-day event lineup yet to be determined.
We do know that Kosuke Hagino was originally slated to enter the men’s 200m IM and 400m IM, in addition to the 200m freestyle, as we previously reported.
We now have word that Japanese IM queen Yui Ohashi will be following suit by adding a 3rd individual event to her dual-IM lineup in the form of the 200m fly.
Per the Japanese Olympic Committee’s report, although Ohashi is entering the 200m fly event, she does not intend to actually vie for an Olympic spot. Instead she’ll use the event as a tune-up of sorts for the meet, offering up another opportunity simply to race her nation’s best.
Ohashi raced the women’s 200m fly event at the 2019 edition of the Japan Swim, where the 24-year-old came in as runner-up in a time of 2:07.57. That fell just .23 outside of winner Suzuka Hasegawa‘s time of 2:07.44 that gave her the gold.
The minimum time standard for the Japanese Olympic qualification is 2:08.43, so Ohashi is fully capable of hitting beneath that mark should she change her mind.
Top contenders outside of Ohashi for the 200m fly within Japan include:
- Sachi Mochida – 2018 Asian Games silver medalist, 2019 World University Games bronze medalist; personal best of 2:07.66
- Suzuka Hasegawa – 2018 Asian Games bronze medalist, 10th at 2019 World Championships; personal best of 2:07.21
- Hiroko Makino – 11th at 2019 World Championships, 2019 Japan Open runner-up; personal best of 2:06.92
Ohashi took 400m IM bronze at last year’s World Championships before being disqualified in the 200m IM.