Yoshikazu Kanaji clinches Men’s 100m back-stroke title - 2011 World Deaf Swimming Championships
Yoshikazu Kanaji of Japan won the gold medal of Men’s 100m back-stroke meet, on day three of the 2011 World Deaf Swimming Championships on Tuesday, August 9, in Coimbra, Portugal.
The competition is a seven-day long course meet, organised by the international aquatic sport’s governing body, Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA).
The 17-year-old Kanaji claimed the title of the event, by submitting a phenomenal time of 1 minute and 00.03 seconds. Kanaji, who beat the Deaf Championship Record of same event by posting a time of 59.96 seconds in the qualifying rounds earlier at the meet,
stayed just 0.05 seconds behind his own mark. He was also 0.58 seconds slower from improving the Deaf World Record of 59.45 seconds, set by Ireland’s John Kealy in 1998.
The Japanese swimmer was only 0.22 seconds away from his subsequent swimmer, Ivan Kassin of Russia, who chased him towards the finishing wall with a second fastest timing of 1 minute and 00.25 seconds. He was trailed by Kanaji’s team-member, Ryutaro Ibara,
who stayed only 0.03 seconds behind the silver medallist and reached the podium in a third fastest time of 1 minute and 00.28 seconds.
Canada’s Philippe Oueliet transpired as the fourth finest swimmer of the Men’s event, as he failed to overcome the efforts of his preceding swimmer, with a difference of 1.18 seconds and clocked a time of 1 minute and 01.46 seconds. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Natalchuk
was sighted as the fifth fastest finisher of the two-lap event, as he produced a time of 1 minute and 01.65 seconds. The 24-year-old Natalchuk was followed by German swimmer, Phil Goldberg, who ended his swim in a sixth best time of 1 minute and 01.85 seconds.
The crowd then witnessed the efforts of Russia’s Vladimir Kolpakov and Australia’s Joshua Chapman, who settled as the seventh and eighth final swimmers of the race, as they posted timings of 1:01.90 and 1:04.37 minutes, respectively.
The arena admired the breath-taking swim of all podium finishers, while these winners were awarded medals and accolades after the session’s completion.
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