FLASH! Tomoyuki Matsushita Fires Off World Record in 400 IM; Breaks Daiya Seto Standard
Nearly seven years after Daiya Seto took the world record in the short-course version of the 400-meter individual medley to 3:54.81, another Japanese star has established a global standard in the event. Racing at the Japanese Short Course Championships on Sunday, Tomoyuki Matsushita clocked a time of 3:54.33 to cut nearly a half-second off the previous record.
The gold medalist in the 400 IM at the Pan Pacific Championships and the silver medalist at the Asian Games, Matsushita has carried his momentum into the short-course pool. While keeping the world mark in Japan, Matsushita went out in 53.22 for the butterfly leg and made the turn after backstroke in 1:53.61. He continued to press the pace on the breaststroke leg, making the transition into freestyle at 2:59.05. He then closed with a split of 55.28.
Matsushita is no stranger to elite performances, as he was the silver medalist in the 400 IM at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and was also the runnerup in the event at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore. He has now brought his talent to the short-course pool and broke a world record that was set during International Swimming League competition in December 2019.
Matsushita’s world record is one of a handful set in short-course action over the past few weeks. During recent World Cup competition, Russia’s Egor Kornev tied the world record in the 100 freestyle (44.84) and set a world record of 21.28 in the 50 butterfly. Meanwhile, South African Pieter Coetze set a world record of 22.09 in the 50 backstroke.