Ikee Rikako, Matsumoto Katsuhiro top guns as Japan names World Aquatics Championships 2023 team
The hosts of the 14-30 July meet in Fukuoka pick the cream of the crop from this past week over an intense six days at Japan Swim 2023.
Swimming
Ikee Rikako and Matsumoto Katsuhiro will lead the host country's charge at the World Aquatics Championships this summer as the Japan Swimming Federation announced its team for Fukuoka on Monday (10 April).
Two-time Olympian Ikee won four titles at Japan Swim 2023 that concluded on Sunday (9 April) at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, meeting the qualifying standard in two races.
Ikee is bound for her first world championships in six years - and the first since she was diagnosed with leukemia in early 2019.
“The first day I won the 100 fly to qualify which I wasn’t expecting to do, really, and managed to get on a roll from there,” Ikee said.
“I’m not particularly happy with my times so I need to take it up a notch from here. I’m looking forward to it. The Olympics was here and now it’s the world championships.”
Matsumoto stormed to three wins, qualifying in all three of them. He was the only swimmer to set a Japan record at this meet, clocking 47.85 seconds in the 100-metre in butterfly.
Sixteen-year-old Narita Mio won both the women’s 200 and 400 individual medleys to head to her first worlds, and is fast emerging as Japan’s latest star in the pool.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic medallists Ohashi Yui and Honda Tomoru are also in the mix as is former 200 breaststroke world record-holder Watanabe Ippei, who won the 100 and 200 this past week.
Seventeen of the 40-strong squad were on the team for the Games in Tokyo.
The full list of Japanese swimmers for the 14-30 July World Aquatics Championships is below.
World Aquatics Championships 2023: Team Japan
Men
Freestyle - Shioura Shinri, Matsumoto Katsuhiro
Backstroke - Irie Ryosuke, Takehara Hidekazu, Yanagawa Daiki
Breaststroke - Hinomoto Yuya, Watanabe Ippei, Sato Shoma
Butterfly - Matsumoto, Kawamoto Takeshi, Mizunuma Naoki, Honda Tomoru, Morimoto Teppei
Individual medley - Honda, Seto Daiya, Ogata So
Relay - Gomi Tomonobu, Nakamura Katsumi, Kawane Masahiro, Mano Hidenari, Tanaka Taikan, Yoshida Fuyu
Women
Freestyle - Ikee Rikako, Shirai Rio, Namba Miyu, Kobori Waka, Moriyama Yukimi
Backstroke - Shirai, Takahashi Miki, Hironaka Hanane
Breaststroke - Suzuki Satomi, Aoki Reona, Imai Runa
Butterfly - Ikee, Soma Ai, Mitsui Airi, Makino Hiroko
Individual medley - Narita Mio, Ohashi Yui, Tanigawa Ageha
Relay - Ikemoto Nagisa, Jinno Yume, Igarashi Chihiro, Mochizuki Kinuko