Junya Koga clinches Men’s 100m back-stroke title: 2011 FINA World Cup, Tokyo
Junya Koga of Japan crushed his compatriots, Takeshi Kawamoto and Yuuki Shirai in the Men’s 100m back-stroke final heat on day one of the final round of the seven-stop FINA World Cup series in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday, November 12.
Koga smacked the finishing blockade in a record breaking time of 51.21 seconds to win the gold medal in 100m back-stroke race over his rivals. Junya was the gold medallist in the respective race at the 2009 World Championships edition, in Rome. In addition,
he won gold medal in 50m back-stroke at the 2009 Summer Universiade, in Belgrade.
Moreover, Koga won two gold medals in 50m back-stroke meets at the 2006 and 2010 Asian Games, in Doha and Guangzhou, respectively. Furthermore, he grabbed golden crown in the respective race at the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships, in Irvine.
After the race, Kawamoto earned silver medal by banging the finishing barrier in an impressive time of 51.89 seconds. In the meantime, Shirai and Kazuki Watanabe of Japan settled for bronze title in a matching mark of 51.90 seconds, respectively.
In addition, Omar Pinzon of Colombia performed well in the respective race by beating the finishing wall in a time of 52.36 seconds. Pinzon claimed three silver medals in 50m, 100m and 200m back-stroke meets at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games,
in Cartagena.
Then, Masafumi Yamaguchi of Japan claimed sixth spot by hammering the finishing blockade in a time of 52.51 seconds. Afterwards, Takahiro Yamazaki of Japan earned seventh place honours by touching the finishing cordon in a spot of 52.54 seconds.
Last, but not the least, the eighth place honours went to Ryan Pin of Papua New Guinea in a time of 52.97 seconds. Pin claimed gold medal in 100m butterfly meet at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, in Melbourne. Besides, he snatched three gold medals including
50m back-stroke, 100m butterfly and 200m freestyle events at the 2011 Pacific Games, in Noumea.
Finally, the gold, silver and bronze medallists were awarded cash prizes after the session’s session. The seven-stop World Series is set to close on Sunday, November 13.
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