Olympic Heartbreak - Fumiko Kawanabe

Fumiko Kawanabe on the right after finishing 3rd in the 100m Breaststroke.

As is always the case in Olympic years, for every jubilant swimmer that makes the Olympic Games, they're are always far more cases of distraught swimmers who have dedicated years of their life towards a goal to come up just short.

Every nation that has already had their Olympic trials have their own examples, but surely none have come close to the anguish Fumiko Kawanabe must be feeling.

On Wednesday Kawanabe finished third in the 100m Breaststroke, an agonising 0.02 seconds behind Mina Matsushima. Her time of 1:07.56 put her inside the world's top 10 this year at the time and inside Japan's tough Olympic qualifying cuts.

Missing out by 0.02 seconds in one event is gut wrenching enough for one person, but then today Kawanabe finished third once again in the 200m Breaststroke. The way the race unfolded was also crushing. Kawanabe went out for the race with searing speed, turning at 100m in 1:08.88 she was a second and a half clear of the rest of the field, at 150m she still held a second advantage over her closest challenger, but she couldn't quite hold on. This time she finished 0.27 seconds behind 15 year old Kanako Watanabe in a time of 2:23.83. Her time was good enough to move her all the way up to 4th in the world this year. That's right, Kawanabe is now the 4th fastest swimmer in the world this year and also 25th fastest in the event all-time, and still missed out on making the Olympic team.

If that hasn't pulled on the heart strings quite enough, let me continue. Kawanabe was born in 1984, a full 12 years earlier than Watanabe and 7 years earlier than 100m and 200m winner Satomi Suzuki. She has never been to an Olympic games before, and at the age of 28, the chances of her carrying on/making the 2016 team seem remote at best.

Both times this week were best times for Kawanabe, so hopefully she can take some solace from that, but for all the stories of disappointment you'll see this year, you'll be hard pressed to see one as sad as Fumiko Kawanabe.

Delving into Japan's Depth In The Men's 200m Fly

A Japanese swimmer probably won't win the Men's 200m Fly in London. They might even come away empty handed, although with the strength of Takeshi Matsuda in the event that is looking unlikely at this stage. However, no nation can compete with the depth that Japan has in the Men's 200m Butterfly.

During today's heats at Japan Swim the top four men swam 1:56s and it took 2:00.02 just to qualify 16th into the semi finals. In tonight's semi finals it took a staggering 1:57.29 to make the final in 8th position. Matsuda led the way in 1:54.19.

To put this in context, here is what it took to make the final in some of the other major swimming nations to have held their Olympic trials:

Britain - 2:00.10
Australia - 2:00.31
Canada - 2:02.75
France - 2:04.96
China (only finals results available, so 8th place in the final) - 2:01.22

The one nation missing is of course USA. They are still yet to hold their trials, but here is a recap of the 8th placed times at the last two US Nationals:

2011 National Championships - 1:59.11
2010 National Championships - 1:59.75


Having incredible depth in an event does not make a huge difference in the overall medal table, but in an event that has been dominated by Michael Phelps for over a decade and one that will soon be up for grabs once the great man retires, Japan has put itself in a tremendous position to be leading the pack in a post-Phelps world.

Kosuke Kitajima Races To A 58.90 100m Breast (With Race Video)

Kosuke Kitajima is a rock star, breaking his own Asian record by 0.01, which just so happened to be set in the 2008 Olympic final. The time is the 5th fastest of all-time and he becomes just the second man under 59 seconds in a textile suit.

Ryo Tateishi, 2nd in 59.60, moved to 2nd in the 2012 world rankings.

Kitajima has now put himself within range of Norway's Alexander Dale Oen and his time of 58.71 set in Shanghai last year and keeps alive the chance to become the first male swimmer to win the same event in three consecutive Olympics.

Dale Oen set his time off a scorching first 50m split of 27.20, compared to Kitajima's still rapid 27.69, but it's worth noting that the Japanese star brought the race home significantly faster, 31.21 to 31.51. An Olympic final showdown between the two is set to be one of the highlights of the London Olympics.

(Thanks to Swimmer's Daily for the video find and 真之介 山田 for the video itself)

Japanese Olympic Trials

Expect the world rankings to have a significant Japanese presence this time next week. The always fast Japan Swim (also serving as their Olympic Trials) start tomorrow.

Among the key storylines will be Kosuke Kitajima going up against the world's deepest domestic group of Breaststrokers. He will hope to keep his dream alive of becoming the first male swimmer in history to win the same event at three consecutive Olympic games.

Also watch out for Ryosuke Irie in the 200m Backstroke. Mr Consistency over the last few years, he is the biggest threat to Ryan Lochte and based on his 1:54.02 from January could be primed to take the next step up to the American's lofty heights.

Finally, look out for a number of the talented Japanese youngsters to move themselves from the potential category, to the legitimate medal contender group. Among those to watch out for are Kanako Watanabe (200m Breaststroke), Daiya Seto, Kosuke Hagino (both 400m IM), Miyu Otsuka (400m IM) and Sayaka Akase (200m Backstroke).

Start Lists & Results
Live Timing

Japan Open - Day Three - Kanako Watanabe

A New Star Is Born?

The labels we have for supremely talented youngsters are often overused, for every 'next big thing' that emerged as a world beater (ie. Michael Phelps, Aaron Peirsol, Ian Thorpe), you will find scores more that failed to reach the lofty heights that many pre-emptively forecasted. This weekend in Japan, 14-year-old Kanako Watanabe has set herself up for such a label. After a solid 31.83 in the 50 Breast and an exceptional 1:07.10 in the 100 Breast, Watanabe saved her best performance for last as she clocked a truly world class 2:23.90 in the 200 Breast. To put the time in some context, it is 0.4 seconds faster than Amanda Beard's fifth-placed finish at last year's Pan Pacs and moves Watanabe to second in this year's world rankings.

Unfortunately Japan has already selected their World Championship team, and Watanabe isn't on it after just missing out on selection at Japanese Nationals. She will, however, have a chance to compete at the World Junior Championships in Peru in August.

If everything goes according to plan, she should continue to improve. Leisel Jones broke through as a 15-year-old and developed into one of the greatest ever female Breaststrokers. Agnes Kovacs won silver in Atlanta aged 15, before winning gold in Sydney four years later. Amanda Beard won silver in the 100 and 200 Breast in Atlanta, aged 14, and then took Gold in Athens in the 200 Breaststroke. She is certainly not the first 14-year-old Breaststroke star to hit the big time. Women's Breaststroke, however, has also seen its fair share of youngsters who shone brightly for a short amount of time. Whether it is physiological or mental, some Breaststrokers struggle to come close to the times they were doing as 14 or 15 year olds.

Two reasons for optimism a) Japan leads the world in men's Breaststroke, clearly they have a great programme going over there, b) Watanabe has some fierce domestic competition in the forms of Satomi Suzuki and Rie Kanetou that should help her continue to progress.

Other Day Three Highlights

Japan Open - Day Two

Day Two at the Japan Open is in the books. No time to waste, let the bullets fly...

• 1996 born Kanako Watanabe followed up yesterday's 1:07.10 effort in the 100 Breast with a win in the 50 Breaststroke. Her time of 31.83 set a new Junior record.  Watanabe falls more into the category of a 100/200 specialist (ie. Rebecca Soni), than a 50/100 swimmer (ie. Jessica Hardy). Tomorrow's 200 should be a cracker after last month's 2:25.59 at Japanese Nationals. Another world ranked top 10 swim (sub 2:25) could  be on the cards.

• Ryosuke Irie won the 200 Back in a blazing time of 1:54.55. That time is the third fastest swim since the suit ban and only Ryan Lochte and Aarson Peirsol have swum faster in a textile suit. Right now the 200 Back is shaping up to be a terrific race in Shanghai. It's hard to look past Ryan Lochte, but Irie looks like his strongest challenger. 10 days ago Tyler Clary also reported on twitter that he swam 1:54.7 in jammers... in training! Those three look to have a lead on the rest of the world right now.

Japan Open - Day One - ジャパンオープン2011(50ｍ)

The Japan Open (ジャパンオープン2011(50ｍ))always seems to throw up some fast swims and the opening day was no exception. Here's a look at those who got the meet off with a bang:

• Aya Terakawa takes top billing after the joint second fastest 100m Backstroke of 2011. Her time of 59.35 sits behind only her own effort of 59.17 at Japanese Nationals. The swim also solidifies Terakawa as one of the most consistent 100 Backstrokers in the world right now. She is the only woman to have swum inside 60 seconds on three occasions this year, a feat she accomplised an incredible seven times last year. She won't go into Shanghai as the favourite, but don't be surprised to see her take home gold.

• Ryosuke Irie is another Japanese Backstroker who will be pushing for medals at Worlds. Today's effort of 53.11 is just a hundredth of a second off his own 2nd ranked time in the world. Irie's consistency on the major stage has come under scrutiny after an off performance at Pan Pacs, but in the non-Camille Lacourt tier of 100 Backstrokers, on this year's evidence, Irie is at the top of that pile.

Japan Swim 2010

Fast times have been posted on the first day of the Japanese Nationals. Results (in English) can be found here.

Kosuke Kitajima set a new national record in the heats of the 50m Breast with a time of 27.30. The time moves Kitajima to the top of the world rankings, taking out Brenton Rickard's 27.40 set at last month's Aussie Champs. Kitajima's effort was just 0.12 seconds shy of Oleg Lisogor's textile best time and beat his previous best of 27.65 set in June 2008. Surprisingly, Kitajima could only manage second in the final with a time of 27.71. Ryo Tateishi won in a time of 27.66.

Rickard still holds the fastest times in the world in both the 100m and 200m Breast with 1:00.19 and 2:09.31. With the kind of speed shown in the 50m, Kitajima must be in with a good chance of being the first man under 60 seconds this year.


Other notable swims:-

Masayuki Kishida posted a swift 22.39 in the semis of the 50m Free. Fred Bousquet remains the only man to have broken 22 seconds this year.

Takeshi Matsuda took victory in the 400m Free in a time of 3:46.59. Tae Hwan Park still leads the world this year with 3:45.03.