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
50 backstroke
