Day one of the 2011 International Swimming Competitions Selection Trial Japan
Day one of the 2011 International Swimming Competitions Selection Trial concluded on Saturday in Japan with the events of 200m butterfly, 200m freestyle, 100m backstroke and the 100m breast-stroke in the Men’s and Women’s category. The championship is a
trial for the Japanese national swimmers to qualify for the 2011 Shanghai World Championships in July.
The session started with the Women’s 200m butterfly, where Hoshi Natsumi improved the National Record for the event, clocking a time of 2:06.05 minutes. Natsumi’s wonderful timing placed her comfortably ahead of her following swimmers Katou Yuka and Natsuki
Hirose, who touched the wall for second and third in 2:09.83 and 2:11.16 minutes respectively.
Next was the Men’s 200m butterfly, where the arena witnessed Matsuda Takeshi earning the crown for the event in 1:54.12 minutes ahead of the Sakata Ryusuke and Sano Hidemasa, who touched the wall for silver and bronze medal in a time of 1:55.11 and 1:56.33
minutes.
Moments later, Ueda Haruka improved the Japanese Record for the Women’s 200m freestyle in an astonishing time of 1:57.37 minutes. Ito Hanae and Matsumoto Yayoi joined her on the podium for the silver and bronze medal in a time of 1:58.42 and 1:59.39 minutes
respectively. Haruka’s wonderful timing has made her a true contender for the event at the 2011 World Championships.
In the Men’s equivalent event, Kobori Yuuki qualified for Shanghai by earning the gold medal in a time of 1:48.15 minutes. His time was comfortably under the FINA time qualification standard and placed him ahead of Uchida Syo and Sotodate Syo, who climbed
the podium for silver and bronze medal in a time of 1:48.18 and 1:48.65 minutes respectively.
The next event was the Women’s 100m back-stroke, where Terakawa Aya emerged as the only swimmer to clock a time under the 1:00.00 minutes. Aya won the gold medal in a time of 59.17 seconds ahead of the Sakai Shiho, who won the silver medal in 1:00.03 minutes.
Ito Hanae and Takemura Miyuki ended in a draw for the bronze medal, producing a time of 1:00.31 minutes each.
In the Men’s corner, Irie Ryosuke displayed a heart-warming swim in a time of 53.10 seconds. Koga Junya and Yamaguchi Masafumi followed him on the podium for the silver and bronze medal in a time of 54.39 and 54.47 seconds respectively.
Next was the Women’s 100m breast-stroke, where Suzuki Satomi conquered the top of the podium in 1:07.68 minutes. Watanabe Kanako and Fukudome Keiko followed her on the podium for the silver and bronze medal in a time of 1:07.99 and 1:08.67 minutes.
The last event of the session was the Men’s 100m breast-stroke, where the crowd favourite Kosuke Kitajima clocked a wonderful 59.44 seconds to conquer the gold medal. He was followed by Tateishi Ryo and Tomita Naoya, who touched the wall for second and third
in a time of 1:00.31 minutes and 1:00.93 minutes.
The top two finishers of each event at the championship will be provided a chance to represent Japan at the World Championships in July.
Tags: