Pan Pacific Championships, Day Two Men’s Prelims: Tomoyuki Matsushita Scares 400 IM Meet Record
Tomoyuki Matsushita started the morning strong at the Pan Pacific Championships Thursday, nearly taking down the meet record in the 400 individual medley.
Matsushita went 4:07.61, which is .02 off the competition record set in 2010 in this same pool by Ryan Lochte. His countryman Yumeki Kojima lowered his world junior record in the process to 4:08.69.
The drama came behind Matsushita, where two Japanese swimmers tied for the second finals spot allowed to them in the locked final.
That kicked off a busy morning that includes a sprint showdown in the 100 freestyle and the battle between Shin Ohashi and Van Mathias in the 100 breaststroke.
400 individual medley
The two heats of the 400 IM were almost broken up by nationality.
The opening heat was the Japanese heat, with Tomoyuki Matsushita leading Yumeki Kojima and Asaki Nishikawa. The Olympic and World Championships silver medalist took it out early and was the clear winner. Kojima appeared to have the edge on the turn for free, but Nishikawa outsplit him by a second on the penultimate 50 by a full season to get to the wall in identical times of 4:08.69. Kojima trimmed .15 seconds off his world junior mark from March in Tokyo. The A and B finalists between them are TBD.
The second heat was the Americans’, with Carson Foster, Bobby Finke and Rex Maurer clumped in the middle of the pool. Foster was first among them and fourth overall in 4:11.55. Finke made the separation in breaststroke, taking two seconds out of Maurer in that 100 to best him.
Finke was sixth overall in 4:12.17, with Australian William Petric sliding into fifth overall in 4:11.86. Lewis Clareburt was seventh overall for New Zealand and into the A final in 4:13.33, with Maurer sliding to eighth in 4:13.76 for a B final berth.
The A final is rounded out by Canadians Lorne Wigginton in 4:14.23 and Tristan Jankovics in 4:15.87.
100 freestyle
Two swimmers took their turns with the meet record Thursday morning. One of them, Chris Guiliano, couldn’t even find a lane in the A final.
Chris Guiliano lowered the meet record of Cameron McEvoy from 2014 by going 47.64 in the fourth heat of six. But Jack Alexy took it lower in 47.40 in the final heat, and with Patrick Sammon’s 47.49, Guiliano was consigned to the B final.
The Americans posted five of the top six times – pity Luke Hobson, whose 48.30 doesn’t get him a second swim, though he’ll be in the 800 free relay at night. Destin Lasco was fourth overall and in the B final in 47.66.
The best non-American was Gui Caribe in 48.16 for fifth overall. Aussies tied for seventh in Harrison Turner and Jamie Jack both going 48.38, which leaves Kai Taylor (48.41) and Edward Sommerville (48.42) in the B final.
The rest of the A final is Zhang Zhanshou of China in 48.71, Shoon Mitsunaga of Japan in 48.77 and countryman Tatsuya Murasa in 48.84.
100 breaststroke
It was two more meet records in the 100 breast. First came Shin Ohashi, the world junior record holder, who went 58.85 to down the 2010 mark set by countryman and Japanese breaststroking royalty Kosuke Kitajima. Van Mathias let that stand for moments until he went 58.61 to take the top seed and push Ohashi down to second.
Mathias will be joined in the A final by fellow American Josh Matheny, who charged home as is his custom. He finished won the first heat of 3 in 59.23, overcoming Campbell McKean in the final 10 meters. McKean is in the B final in 59.59, which was the fifth-fastest time overall.
Cal swimmer Yamato Okadome finished fourth and is in the A final in 59.50. Taku Taniguchi of Japan and Sam Williamson of Australia tied for sixth in 59.74, but Taniguchi is in the B final and Williamson the A. Canada’s Oliver Dawson joins the latter with Liu Junjie of China and Zac Stubblety-Cook of Australia.
50 backstroke
More American depth means a little more disappointment. Five of the top seven and six of the top nine mean a lot of guys missing out despite solid swims.
Leading the way was Isaac Cooper of Australia, who went 24.53. That downs Nick Thoman’s meet record from 2010 and takes away the meet mark that Will Modglin set in the first heat at 24.65. At least there’s still an A final spot for Modglin.
Third was a tie between American Quintin McCarty and Marcus Reyes Gentry of Mexico. The time was 24.74, Gentry .11 off his national record.
Americans Shaine Casas and Michael Andrew finished fifth and sixth to land in the B final. No such luck for Daniel Diehl in seventh.
The A final includes Reo Miura of Japan in eighth overall. Javier Acevedo of Canada in 10th, Jack Harvey of Bermuda in 11th and Mu-Lun Chuang of Chinese Taipei in 12th overall. Havey’s time matches his national record from Commonwealth Games.
