Rikako Ikee Makes Japanese History With 56.86 100 Butterfly

2016 RIO OLYMPIC GAMES

• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Swimming: August 6-13
• Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Barra Olympic Park, Rio de Janeiro
• Prelims – 9:00 a.m/12:00 p.m PST/EST (1:00 p.m local), Finals – 6:00 p.m/9:00 p.m PST/EST (10:00 p.m local)
• SwimSwam previews 
• Day 1 Schedule & Results
• Live Stream (NBC)

In a trifecta of phenomenal 100m butterfly swims across prelims, semi-finals and finals in Rio, Japanese teenager Rikako Ikee solidified herself as her nation’s biggest fly sprint star.

Headed into the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, 16-year-old Ikee held Japan’s National Record in the 100m butterfly event in 57.55, but shot that down to 57.27 during yesterday’s prelims. She then shaved off even more time from that mark come semi-finals, where Ikee nabbed the 3rd seed in a remarkable 57.05, a time which certainly put a sub-57-second outing in striking distance.

Tonight was the night for Ikee to take that threshold down, as she earned a shiny new Japanese National Record of 56.86. Although Ikee wound up in 6th and off the podium, she became the first Japanese woman to ever claim a 100m butterfly time under 57 seconds.

Splits for Ikee’s 100m butterfly swims:

Prelims: 26.45/30.82 – 57.27
Semi-Finals:  27.14/29.91 – 57.05
Finals: 26.81/30.05 – 56.86

Ikee is most certainly on the rise and tonight’s performance represents the 2nd piece of history she has already created over her young career. Earlier this year, at 15 years of age, Ikee became the first Japanese woman to clock a 100m freestyle time under 54 seconds, setting a new National Record in 53.99.