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Re: 2006 Japan Nationals (Selection trials for Doha Asian Games, Pan Pacs and 2007 Melbourne Worlds)
Comments from swimmers after Day 3 finals
Tomomi Morita was gunning for the Japanese record in the men's 50m backstroke final so he went all out for it with his swift speed and succeeded. Morita knew the importance of swimming fast in the first 50m of a 100m race so he will train hard for the 50m to complement the 100m event. Mai Nakamura was satisfied that she once again lowered her 50m backstroke national record. She will train hard to further improve her times to swim well at the World Championships and hopefully challenge the world record.
Sachiko Yamada swam a fast 8:28.08 in the 800m freestyle, a best time in nearly two years. Yamada however disliked being described as "recovered from her slump"; she felt it has more to do with finding the joys in swimming again. Yamada believed that she would be consistently fast once she finalised her race strategies and further toughened herself up in the US. Ai Shibata was once again disappointed with how she swam and she said she would strive to regain her former self and get back into shape.
Yoshimi Miwa was excited with her victory in the women's 50m breaststroke but wasn't happy with her time. She had trained hard for the Japanese record but apparently it wasn't enough. Miwa will aim to swim a 1:08 or even 1:07 in the 100m breaststroke. Asami Kitagawa was absolutely elated with her personal best in the women's 200m IM. Her parents and elder sister came to watch her swim and share her joys of victory. "To swim better in the future, my first step is to increase my self-confidence." She will attempt to swim her best again tomorrow in the 100m breaststroke, an event in which she holds the highschool record of 1:08.6.
400m freestyle champion Takeshi Matsuda felt he took it out a little too fast in the first half and he would have met the A standard had he paced himself better. He was so close to making the World Championship team but regretfully failed to achieve his goal. Nevertheless, Matsuda felt his freestyle race turned out fine and he's confident his training is on the right track.
Last edited by sportsworld, 4/22/2006, 7:46 pm
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4/22/2006, 7:14 pm
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Re: 2006 Japan Nationals (Selection trials for Doha Asian Games, Pan Pacs and 2007 Melbourne Worlds)
Day 4 Heats
There were some good swims in the heats on the last day of competition, nothing spectacular but generally fine swims for a morning session.
Kosuke Kitajima was just 0.07 seconds off the A standard in the heats of the men's 100m breaststroke, but he should be able to qualify for the Worlds tonight. Both Kitajima (1:00.77) and Makoto Yama****a (1:00.91) went below the B standard.
Ito Hanae (2:11.37) and Reiko Nakamura (2:11.47) also bettered the B standard in the women's 200m backstroke heats. Takashi Nakano (1:59.52) and Kazuki Watanabe (1:59.94) swam below 2:00 in the men's 200m backstroke heats. Makoto Ito was the top qualifier in the men's 50m freestyle with his 22.90 swim.
Takashi Yamamoto (53.10), Ryo Takayasu (53.39) and Ryuichi Shibata (53.47) led the qualifiers for the men's 100m butterfly event. In the women's 100m butterfly heats, three swimmers dipped below 1:00 -- Yuko Nakanishi (59.54), Yuka Kato (59.75) and Ayako Doi (59.87). Ken Takakuwa (2:01.69), Hidemasa Sano and Taishi Okude (2:02.97) also qualified in the men's 200m IM.
Last edited by sportsworld, 4/23/2006, 10:47 am
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4/23/2006, 6:27 am
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Re: 2006 Japan Nationals (Selection trials for Doha Asian Games, Pan Pacs and 2007 Melbourne Worlds)
Day 4 Finals
Takeshi Matsuda set a new Asian record of 7:55.11 in the men's 800m freestyle. Ito Hanae clocked an impressive 2:09.15 for a new national record in the women's 200m backstroke whilst pre-race favourite Reiko Nakamura had to settle for a silver medal; both swimmers went under the A standard and qualified for their second event. Sachiko Yamada (16:10.62) splitted 8:35.68 on her way to another victory in the women's 1500m freestyle. Yurie Yano (16:20.57) and Ai Shibata (16:26.16) took the silver and bronze medals.
Kosuke Kitajima (1:00.71) bagged his first title in the men's 100m breaststroke but failed to meet the A standard. Nevertheless he has another chance at the Pan Pacs to qualify for the Worlds. Takashi Yamamoto (52.53) and Ryo Takayasu (52.59) took top two spots in the men's 100m butterfly final. Yuko Nakanishi (58.93) and Ayako Doi (59.33) also qualified for the Pan Pacs team in the women's 100m butterfly.
Tomomi Morita (1:58.79) grabbed his third gold medal of the meet in the men's 200m backstroke and qualified for the Pan Pacs in this event. Ryosuke Irie set a new high school record of 1:59.32 to place second whilst Asian record holder Takashi Nakano (1:59.53) was relegated to third. Ken Takakuwa (2:00.43) was the only swimmer to reach the B standard in the men's 200m IM and Makoto Ito won the men's 50m freestyle final in 22.61 seconds. Yoshimi Miwa (1:08.72) added another title to her collection in the women's 100m breaststroke final. Asami Kitagawa (1:09.15), already the winner of two titles, took the silver medal.
List of qualifiers :
Women's 200m backstroke - Ito Hanae (2:09.15) and Reiko Nakamura (2:10.05)
Women's 1500m freestyle - Sachiko Yamada (16:10.62)
Last edited by sportsworld, 4/23/2006, 7:52 pm
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4/23/2006, 1:55 pm
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Re: 2006 Japan Nationals (Selection trials for Doha Asian Games, Pan Pacs and 2007 Melbourne Worlds)
Results
Men's Events
50m Freestyle
1 ITOU MAKOTO JPN 86 22.61 ( 0.72)
2 SASAKI TAKERU JPN 85 23.00 ( 0.70)
3 OHBAYASHI KAZUKI JPN 89 23.15 ( 0.71)
4 HOSOKAWA DAISUKE JPN 82 23.23 ( 0.75)
5 KAWACHI YUUKI JPN 86 23.26 ( 0.62)
6 KOJIMA TAKAMITSU JPN 81 23.34 ( 0.71)
7 YAMAMOTO HIROAKI JPN 87 23.36 ( 0.66)
8 TAKEUCHI NAOKI JPN 82 23.37 ( 0.69)
800m Freestyle
1 MATSUDA TAKESHI JPN 84 7:55.11 NR ( 0.74)
57.62 1:58.03 2:58.36 3:58.62 4:58.81 5:59.07 6:58.31
2 DOKI KENICHI JPN 88 8:07.24 ( 0.70)
58.87 2:00.29 3:01.88 4:03.67 5:05.06 6:06.29 7:07.62
3 MATSUMURA GOU JPN 84 8:11.24 ( 0.72)
59.51 2:01.05 3:02.61 4:04.41 5:06.46 6:08.57 7:11.14
4 TAKAYAMA HIROKI JPN 82 8:12.69 ( 0.83)
58.98 2:00.72 3:02.71 4:04.96 5:07.37 6:09.63 7:11.60
5 MONONOBE YASUNORI JPN 85 8:15.18 ( 0.75)
55.37 1:55.34 2:57.07 3:59.80 5:03.43 6:07.76 7:12.54
6 TOUGOU TAKAYUKI JPN 87 8:15.95 ( 0.88)
58.62 2:00.72 3:02.79 4:05.88 5:08.58 6:11.54 7:14.46
7 YAMADA YUUICHI JPN 84 8:17.05 ( 0.67)
58.59 2:00.58 3:02.70 4:04.49 5:06.95 6:10.43 7:15.48
8 SAWAMURA YASUHIRO JPN 85 8:17.14 ( 0.68)
59.09 2:02.20 3:05.61 4:09.06 5:11.24 6:13.76 7:16.59
200m Backstroke
1 MORITA TOMOMI JPN 84 1:58.79 ( 0.51)
27.09 57.03 1:27.81
2 IRIE RYOSUKE JPN 90 1:59.32 HR ( 0.58)
28.19 58.08 1:28.83
3 NAKANO TAKASHI JPN 84 1:59.53 ( 0.55)
27.21 56.73 1:27.28
4 YAMAGUCHI MASAFUMI JPN 84 1:59.74 ( 0.63)
27.91 58.11 1:29.63
5 WATANABE KAZUKI JPN 87 2:00.02 ( 0.53)
27.98 58.25 1:29.06
6 SHIMIZU YOUHEI JPN 87 2:01.24 ( 0.54)
28.48 58.92 1:30.46
7 MIYA****A JUNICHI JPN 83 2:01.73 ( 0.60)
27.91 58.41 1:30.04
8 UCHIDA SYOHEI JPN 87 2:02.47 ( 0.54)
28.61 59.63 1:31.66
100m Breaststroke
1 KITAJIMA KOUSUKE JPN 82 28.55 1:00.71 ( 0.68)
2 YAMA****A MAKOTO JPN 83 29.03 1:01.06 ( 0.67)
3 OKAZAKI KOUICHIROU JPN 86 29.11 1:01.65 ( 0.67)
4 SUENAGA YUUTA JPN 85 29.46 1:01.85 ( 0.74)
5 SAKIMOTO HIROMASA JPN 84 29.03 1:02.01 ( 0.66)
6 TAKITA HARUMICHI JPN 85 29.38 1:02.07 ( 0.69)
7 IMAMURA GENKI JPN 82 29.57 1:02.38 ( 0.67)
8 NAKAGAWA YOUHEI JPN 84 29.50 1:02.78 ( 0.71)
100m Butterfly
1 YAMAMOTO TAKASHI JPN 78 24.70 52.53 ( 0.65)
2 TAKAYASU RYO JPN 81 24.58 52.59 ( 0.67)
3 SHIBATA RYUICHI JPN 83 25.05 53.03 ( 0.64)
4 KATOU TAKUMA JPN 84 25.02 53.46 ( 0.67)
5 KAWAMOTO KOUHEI JPN 79 24.72 53.49 ( 0.67)
6 SATOU HISAYOSHI JPN 87 25.40 53.79 ( 0.71)
7 TAKAMOTO SYOTA JPN 86 25.40 54.00 ( 0.64)
8 MURAMATSU YOSHINORI JPN 88 25.16 54.26 ( 0.63)
200m IM
1 TAKAKUWA KEN JPN 85 2:00.43 ( 0.62)
26.32 56.52 1:31.84
2 SANO HIDEMASA JPN 84 2:01.13 ( 0.62)
25.80 55.82 1:31.84
3 FUJII TAKUROU JPN 85 2:01.77 ( 0.71)
26.06 57.53 1:32.24
4 SYOJI YUUTA JPN 84 2:01.97 ( 0.67)
26.35 56.64 1:32.39
5 OKUDE TAISHI JPN 83 2:01.98 ( 0.72)
26.38 57.83 1:32.66
6 MIKI JIROU JPN 83 2:02.24 ( 0.69)
26.41 57.55 1:32.45
7 TANIGUCHI SHINYA JPN 81 2:03.21 ( 0.83)
26.82 58.59 1:34.03
8 YOSHII JUN JPN 82 2:04.17 ( 0.63)
26.81 58.62 1:34.30
Women's Events
50m Freestyle
1 YAMADA KAORI JPN 81 25.98 ( 0.77)
2 NAKAMURA MOTOMI JPN 88 26.18 ( 0.73)
3 YAMADA ATSUMI JPN 82 26.31 ( 0.75)
4 MASHIMA ERIKO JPN 83 26.40 ( 0.68)
5 URABE NORIE JPN 86 26.42 ( 0.67)
6 URATA NANAMI JPN 84 26.49 ( 0.66)
7 YAMA****A YUME JPN 84 26.67 ( 0.67)
8 SUGAYA MARIKO JPN 86 26.83 ( 0.69)
1500m Freestyle
1 YAMADA SACHIKO JPN 82 8:35.68 16:10.62 ( 0.76)
1:01.93 2:06.27 3:11.05 4:15.85 5:20.63 6:25.36 7:30.52
8:35.68 9:40.93 10:46.29 11:51.85 12:56.99 14:02.08 15:07.26
2 YANO YURIE JPN 88 8:41.66 16:20.57 ( 0.81)
1:02.72 2:08.06 3:13.61 4:19.65 5:25.35 6:30.52 7:36.15
8:41.66 9:47.19 10:52.64 11:57.38 13:02.74 14:08.63 15:14.73
3 SHIBATA AI JPN 82 8:39.56 16:26.16 ( 0.85)
1:02.09 2:06.73 3:11.63 4:16.60 5:21.68 6:27.06 7:32.70
8:39.56 9:46.37 10:53.62 12:00.16 13:06.76 14:13.72 15:20.27
4 YONENAGA CHIKA JPN 86 8:46.27 16:33.11 ( 0.83)
1:04.32 2:10.66 3:16.86 4:22.87 5:28.94 6:34.60 7:40.41
8:46.27 9:52.45 10:59.15 12:06.08 13:12.92 14:19.74 15:26.73
5 KIDA YUMI JPN 85 8:47.47 16:37.32 ( 0.73)
1:03.78 2:09.68 3:15.70 4:21.80 5:28.12 6:34.35 7:40.80
8:47.47 9:54.18 11:01.02 12:07.96 13:15.30 14:22.91 15:30.73
6 IWAI KANAE JPN 85 8:55.64 16:50.39 ( 0.70)
1:03.46 2:10.25 3:17.11 4:24.16 5:32.18 6:40.47 7:48.14
8:55.64 10:03.37 11:11.87 12:20.45 13:28.18 14:36.33 15:45.15
7 MIYABE KANAKO JPN 89 8:55.58 16:51.14 ( 0.72)
1:03.82 2:10.34 3:17.34 4:24.66 5:32.36 6:39.74 7:47.34
8:55.58 10:03.87 11:12.16 12:20.76 13:29.08 14:37.84 15:46.23
8 HASHIMOTO YUI JPN 88 8:57.28 16:58.68 ( 0.85)
1:05.46 2:12.27 3:19.04 4:26.01 5:33.28 6:41.11 7:49.20
8:57.28 10:05.53 11:14.32 12:23.66 13:33.08 14:42.03 15:51.37
200m Backstroke
1 ITOU HANAE JPN 85 2:09.15 NR ( 0.63)
30.64 1:03.36 1:36.22
2 NAKAMURA REIKO JPN 82 2:10.05 ( 0.62)
30.73 1:03.54 1:36.78
3 IGARASHI TAKAMI JPN 84 2:11.27 ( 0.64)
31.12 1:04.34 1:37.72
4 TAKEMURA MIYUKI JPN 89 2:12.90 ( 0.58)
31.50 1:05.00 1:39.35
5 FUKUDA TOMOYO JPN 89 2:13.11 ( 0.58)
31.15 1:04.65 1:38.93
6 ABE TOSHIE JPN 83 2:13.25 ( 0.55)
31.29 1:04.49 1:38.71
7 OIKAWA MASAKI JPN 84 2:13.59 ( 0.57)
31.23 1:04.88 1:39.59
8 SHIMAZOE SAKI JPN 90 2:15.26 ( 0.71)
32.02 1:05.93 1:41.22
100m Breaststroke
1 MIWA YOSHIMI JPN 85 32.61 1:08.72 ( 0.74)
2 KITAGAWA ASAMI JPN 87 32.98 1:09.15 ( 0.77)
3 NAKAMURA SAYAKA JPN 87 33.23 1:09.26 ( 0.81)
4 TAMURA NANAKA JPN 87 32.97 1:09.41 ( 0.72)
5 KAWANABE FUMIKO JPN 84 32.91 1:09.53 ( 0.70)
6 SATOU KAORI JPN 81 33.49 1:10.41 ( 0.67)
7 MATSUSHIMA MINA JPN 91 33.47 1:10.62 ( 0.83)
8 MURAKAMI YUUMI JPN 90 33.89 1:10.79 ( 0.62)
100m Butterfly
1 NAKANISHI YUUKO JPN 81 27.90 58.93 ( 0.68)
2 DOI AYAKO JPN 80 27.80 59.33 ( 0.71)
3 KATOU YUKA JPN 86 27.87 59.70 ( 0.69)
4 AKIYAMA NATSUKI JPN 91 28.21 1:00.01 ( 0.75)
5 OKUMURA AYAKA JPN 88 28.66 1:00.44 ( 0.66)
6 OSHIMI MASAE JPN 86 28.07 1:00.60 ( 0.87)
7 HORIKE MIO JPN 83 28.60 1:00.64 ( 0.71)
8 IIKUBO MAMI JPN 87 28.61 1:00.98 ( 0.76)
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4/23/2006, 3:20 pm
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Re: 2006 Japan Nationals (Selection trials for Doha Asian Games, Pan Pacs and 2007 Melbourne Worlds)
Comments of swimmers after Day 4 finals
New 200m backstroke record holder Ito Hanae was confident of swimming well at this meet after some productive winter training. She praised her swim team for providing a conducive training environment which spawned the fast times of team members such as Morita and herself. Hanae now aims to challenge the best swimmers in the world and is confident of winning medals in major meets.
Reiko Nakamura wasn't satisfied with her performance in her pet event because she failed to swim faster than her own national record and also only placed second. She felt she lost in the final 50 metres, because her endurance wasn't up to Hanae's level and it showed in the race. Nevertheless, she's looking ahead and will continue to train hard.
Sachiko Yamada was rather (pleasantly) surprised at her 16:10 in the 1500m freestyle. She was quite nervous on the final day of competition but chose to concentrate on her race. Ai Shibata was obviously disappointed with her loss and was adamant she won't swim so poorly again.
Takeshi Matsuda was aiming for the A standard in the 800m freestyle but missed it. He was still quite pleased with setting a new Japanese record. He wanted to aim higher at nationals in future, just like at major meets. Matsuda wanted to do well at the Pan Pacs in summer and win his ticket to the Worlds. 50m freestyle champion Makoto Ito felt he had a smooth race tonight and will work on his physical strength to compete with the best in the world.
Ken Takakuwa was delighted with his victory in the 200m IM. He knew favourite Sano would go out fast in the butterfly and backstroke leg but he paced his race well and stormed home strongly in the freestyle leg. Takakuwa planned to work on his weaker backstroke. Tomomi Morita, who won three backstroke titles, felt some pain in his shoulders after racing three gruelling days; he went all out since it was already his last race at this meet.
100m butterfly champion Yuko Nakanishi did not expect a 58 swim and was pleased with the way she sailed through the water. She positioned herself as an aggressive challenger before the race instead of the defending champion and just went out hard for it from the start. Takashi Yamamoto was very happy with his win in the 100m butterfly. He had one thought in mind -- i.e. to win and so he gave his all in the race. Yoshimi Miwa was also overwhelmed with joy because she cracked the 1:09 barrier. Her next target is to make the World Championship team at the Pan Pacs.
Kosuke Kitjima was pushed to the edge in the 100m breaststroke, knowing full well he needed to swim very fast to qualify for the Worlds or at least fast enough for another chance at the Pan Pacs. He missed the A standard by 0.01 seconds and like others, couldn't understand why he didn't swim to expectations; he felt incredibly uneasy these three days after his dismal performances earlier, something he has not experienced before. Kitajima hopes to improve by summer and swim as fast as he is capable of.
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4/24/2006, 5:41 pm
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Re: 2006 Japan Nationals (Selection trials for Doha Asian Games, Pan Pacs and 2007 Melbourne Worlds)
More news articles and interviews of swimmers from the 2006 Japan Nationals
Kitajima's injury problems
Kosuke Kitajima was plagued with injuries this year; he suffered an injury on his right elbow in February which caused him to pull out from the short-course Japan Open in February and he also encountered knee problems during altitude training in March. He was also lacking in competition since September last year, which was detrimental to his performances at his first meet for more than half a year. Kitajima then went for altitude training at Arizona USA in March. The elbow injury also affected his training so he had to concentrate on training the lower half of his body. However, his knees started to hurt and his training was further impacted. The pain in both knees is a common problem, almost like a "professional injury", for top breaststrokers who have to kick very hard in each stroke. "I often encountered coordination problems with my knees during swimming and my training plans suffered as a result."
Day 1
Kosuke Kitajima was extremely disappointed after his loss in the 200m breaststroke on the first night. It was a second consecutive defeat in this event and this time, he did not even make the medal podium. He said, "I was swimming well in the first half of the race but couldn't sustain the pace. I have to admit defeat; the other swimmers have improved a lot."
Genki Imamura prepared for a repeat of his success last year by watching videos of his 2005 victory many times and hatched a plan to maintain within half a body length of Kitajima and try to overtake him in the charge to the wall.
400m freestyle winner Sachiko Yamada has moved to her new training base, USA, and she had an operation on her left knee last September. Ai Shibata, who's the 400m freestyle silver medallist (4:06) at Montreal Worlds, was affected by a pain in her waist at the end of March this year. After clocking only 4:12 in the 400m freestyle final, Shibata complained that her strokes were not working well at all; her left hand's coordination was problematic and could not pull properly.
Day 2
Tomomi Morita was ecstatic with his Asian record of 53.85 in the men's 100m backstroke. He became the first Japanese man to break the 54-second barrier. Morita finally achieved his dream 53-sec swim, and won his fifth consecutive national title in this event. The roars around the swimming pool echoed far as the scoreboard flashed "53.85". After seeing his time, Morita clenched his fist and gave a powerful wave as a sign of victory. It's the fastest time this year, the world ranked number two time last year and the fourth fastest time ever in this event.
"I've been training very hard to prepare for this moment, to swim 53 secs. We need to swim at least 53 seconds to be competent at major international meets these days." Morita was affected by some scandals in Autumn 2004 but restricted his social activities since last January. After that, he made a comeback and placed fourth at the 2005 Worlds. Morita improved one step at a time, and he broke all three Japanese short-course records at the World Cup series this year. "I know who my opponents are but if I focus on my races, I won't lose to anyone in Japan. I swam like the Japanese No. 1 in tonight's race." His next target is world record holder Aaron Peirsol (53.17), "The gap between us has finally narrowed to within a second. This meet is not my final target. I want to swim much faster and win the Beijing Olympic gold medal."
Morita's teammate Ito Hanae also won the women's 100m backstroke in a personal best time of 1:00.65 but missed the Japanese record by 0.1 seconds. She was happy with her best time but was slightly disappointed for not taking down the record. Hanae scolded Morita after he broke the national record, joking that her disappointment has doubled because of him !
Ryuichi Shibata was faster than the world record pace at the 150m mark but faltered in the last stretch. After becoming the number one in Japan, Shibata now wants to be the world number one at the 2007 Worlds. Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima's face was filled with sorrow after losing again in the 50m breaststroke. He bit his lips as he expressed his disappointment at his loss and his time. His coach pointed out he had lost the previous hunger in his eyes. Kitajima knew he had nowhere else to retreat; he also fully understood the imminent risks he's facing and the importance of his final race at this meet, the 100m breaststroke, which may have a major impact on his swimming career.
Mai Nakamura pulled out from the 100m backstroke event because of a pain in her right shoulder. She then won the 50m backstroke in a new national record time and set her sights on winning a medal at the Worlds. Tomomi Morita believed he could break another national record in the 50m backstroke and he did.
Last Day
Kitajima finally won on the last night of competition in the 100m breaststroke, his seventh consecutive national title in this event. He punched the water in relief and let out a howl to release the anxiety pent up for the past three days. 1:00.71, that was quite an ordinary time for him, but he had to give his all in the race. "I already did my best. I've never swum a tougher race than today's. These few days have been the most unpleasant experience I've ever encountered." With defeats earlier in the 50m and 200m events, Kitajima was in danger of missing a national title in seven years. If he failed to place within the top two, he would not be selected for the 2007 Worlds. Being pushed to the edge, Kitajima had a heart-to-heart discussion with his coach Norimisa Hirai at the hostel the night before. "Swim as if your life depends on it", was what his coach advised him. With this in mind, Kitajima revived the intense spirit of professionalism within him. Takashi Yamamoto, his friend and Olympic teammate, also gave him words of encouragement. Kitajima might have missed qualification by 0.01 seconds but the hunger within him was renewed and victory was sweet. However, he still has to suffer the bitterness of physical injuries -- his right elbow and both knees. Due to Kitajima's recurring physical problems, he was unable to taper well for this meet. He's already 23 years old; his coach revealed they have to acknowledge Kitajima's problems and handle his fitness training properly. The Worlds will be in Spring next year and after two years, it'll be the Beijing Olympics; the "Kitajima team" hopes to emulate their Athens success and the rebuilding phase starts right now.
Takashi Yamamoto came back from around a year of rest since Athens Olympics, and he actively incorporated strength training as part of his training program. "I'm 28 this year, but I still want to return to the heights of my swimming career." Yamamoto plans to improve his times at the Pan Pacs after reaching B standards in both his events here.
After winning the 200m backstroke with a new Japanese record, Ito Hanae said, "I'm very happy now. I want to capture the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics and hope to better my record consistently on the way there."
Last edited by sportsworld, 4/26/2006, 8:31 am
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4/25/2006, 6:42 pm
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