Naoya Tomita withdraws from 200m breast-stroke at Japan Open Swimming Championships
Japanese 200m breast-stroke champion, Naoya Tomita announced that he will not take part in the 200m breast-stroke at the upcoming Japan Open Swimming Championships from May 20 to 22.
Tomita, who earned the national crown for the 200m event last month, said that he will preserve his energy for the shorter distances at the upcoming Japan Open. He intends to earn the title for the 200m event at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai this
July.
Naoya said that he needs to prepare himself to make a splash at his biggest battle at the upcoming 2011 World Championships, where he will face the four times Olympic Games gold medallist, Kosuke Kitajima along with the other world elites.
Tomita announced that his focus will remain on the 50m breast-stroke and the 100m breast-stroke at the upcoming Japan Open later this month. He justifies his decision by saying that he wants to "build speed and endurance" for a breathtaking performance at
the World Championships.
Naoya faces a severe battle with Kitajima at the National Open Championships. Kitajima has remained undisputed in the 100m and 200m breast-stroke events at the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Nevertheless, Tomita overwhelmed Kitajima’s
effort to grab a gold medal in the 200m breast-stroke at the 2011 International Swimming Competitions Selection Trial.
Tomita qualified for the World Championships by defeating the nation’s favourite, Kitajima with a considerable difference of 1.01 seconds, clocking 2:08.25 minutes against Kosuke’s 2:09.26 minutes effort. He also earned a bronze medal in the 100m breast-stroke
at these championships behind Kitajima, who occupied the gold medal. While, Tomita failed to secure the podium in the 50m breast-stroke, as he finished fifth in the championships.
Naoya has the intention to produce a podium finish in the 50m and 100m event so he could also make his way to the China in any of these events.
The Japanese 200m star, Tomita believes that he could retain his position in the 200m event at the world stage of Shanghai and has the aim of doing the same at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
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