Iron man Kitajima closes in on Rio

AFP, TOKYO: Japanese swim king Kosuke Kitajima turned back the clock at the national championships on Monday, with a devastating display of power to close in on a fifth successive Olympic appearance.
The 33-year-old, who captured double gold in the men’s 100 and 200 metres breaststroke at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, flexed his muscles by qualifying fastest for Tuesday’s 100m final with a time of 59.62 seconds at Tokyo’s Tatsumi Pool.
Japan’s latest swimming sensation Kosuke Hagino, meanwhile, booked his place at this summer’s Rio Olympics with an equally convincing victory in the men’s 400 metres medley.
A chiselled-looking Kitajima became the first Japanese swimmer to qualify for four Olympics four years ago and demonstrated he was not done yet with another strong swim in his semi-final heat.
“I wanted a slightly quicker time,” said Kitajima, who nonetheless landed a psychological blow by edging out young pretender Yasuhiro Koseki (1:00.09) and narrowly dipping under the Olympic qualifying time of 59.63.
“But it’s been a while since I swam 59-something. I feel this is a reward for all the hard work I’ve put in. I’d still like to set a personal best again in the final.”
Hagino, who was ruled out of last year’s world championships with a broken elbow suffered after falling off a bicycle, stormed to victory in 4:08.90 to qualify for Rio alongside rival Daiya Seto.
“I let a lot of people down last year through my own fault,” said Hagino, the reigning Asian champion and bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics.
“I have to work hard to make it up to everyone,” added the 21-year-old. “I’m not happy with that time but I’ve qualified for the Olympics and I’ll look to get some revenge by swimming faster in Rio.”
Daiya, who retained his world title in Kazan last year in Hagino’s absence, had already secured his qualification before the final.
In the women’s 400m medley, Miho Takahashi qualified for her second straight Olympics, along with Sakiko Shimizu.

Iron man Kitajima closes in on Rio

AFP, TOKYO: Japanese swim king Kosuke Kitajima turned back the clock at the national championships on Monday, with a devastating display of power to close in on a fifth successive Olympic appearance. The 33-year-old, who captured double gold in the mens 100 and 200 metres breaststroke at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, flexed his muscles by qualifying fastest for Tuesdays 100m final with a time of 59.62 seconds at Tokyos Tatsumi Pool. Japans latest swimming sensation Kosuke Hagino, meanwhile, booked his place at this summers Rio Olympics with an equally convincing victory in the mens 400 metres medley. A chiselled-looking Kitajima became the first Japanese swimmer to qualify for four Olympics four years ago and demonstrated he was not done yet with another strong swim in his semi-final heat. I wanted a slightly quicker time, said Kitajima, who nonetheless landed a psychological blow by edging out young pretender Yasuhiro Koseki (1:00.09) and narrowly dipping under the Olympic qualifying time of 59.63. But its been a while since I swam 59-something. I feel this is a reward for all the hard work Ive put in. Id still like to set a personal best again in the final. Hagino, who was ruled out of last years world championships with a broken elbow suffered after falling off a bicycle, stormed to victory in 4:08.90 to qualify for Rio alongside rival Daiya Seto. I let a lot of people down last year through my own fault, said Hagino, the reigning Asian champion and bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics. I have to work hard to make it up to everyone, added the 21-year-old. Im not happy with that time but Ive qualified for the Olympics and Ill look to get some revenge by swimming faster in Rio. Daiya, who retained his world title in Kazan last year in Haginos absence, had already secured his qualification before the final. In the womens 400m medley, Miho Takahashi qualified for her second straight Olympics, along with Sakiko Shimizu.