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▼ Hagino Wins Swimming Gold
- Category:Other
RIO DE JANEIRO — Kosuke Hagino got off to a flying start on Saturday at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, winning the men’s 400-meter individual medley to give Japan its first gold medal at the Games.
Hagino, 21, won with a time of 4 minutes 6.05 seconds, while his longtime rival and two-time world champion Daiya Seto, 22, finished third in 4:09.71.
Hagino overtook Seto for the lead in the second leg, the backstroke. U.S. swimmer Chase Kalisz was catching up in the succeeding breaststroke and final freestyle legs, but Hagino managed to hold on to first place by 0.70 seconds.
“I swam for my coach [Norimasa] Hirai, so I could hang my gold medal around his neck,” Hagino said. “Kalisz made me nervous in the last 50 meters. I’m glad I could still win this tight race.”
Seto said: “I was exhausted. I couldn’t recover from my fatigue, although my performance in the preliminary stage was good enough.”
A native of Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, Hagino finished third in the same event at the London Games in 2012 while in his third year at Sakushin Gakuin High School. After entering Toyo University the following year, he became the first swimmer to win five events at the Japan championships.
The versatile swimmer aims for multiple medals in Rio, including in the 200-meter individual medley.
Seto, 22, hails from Moroyama, Saitama Prefecture. He was the world champion in the 400-meter individual medley in 2013, and defended the title at the next worlds in 2015. He is a student at Waseda University.
Hagino, 21, won with a time of 4 minutes 6.05 seconds, while his longtime rival and two-time world champion Daiya Seto, 22, finished third in 4:09.71.
Hagino overtook Seto for the lead in the second leg, the backstroke. U.S. swimmer Chase Kalisz was catching up in the succeeding breaststroke and final freestyle legs, but Hagino managed to hold on to first place by 0.70 seconds.
“I swam for my coach [Norimasa] Hirai, so I could hang my gold medal around his neck,” Hagino said. “Kalisz made me nervous in the last 50 meters. I’m glad I could still win this tight race.”
Seto said: “I was exhausted. I couldn’t recover from my fatigue, although my performance in the preliminary stage was good enough.”
A native of Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, Hagino finished third in the same event at the London Games in 2012 while in his third year at Sakushin Gakuin High School. After entering Toyo University the following year, he became the first swimmer to win five events at the Japan championships.
The versatile swimmer aims for multiple medals in Rio, including in the 200-meter individual medley.
Seto, 22, hails from Moroyama, Saitama Prefecture. He was the world champion in the 400-meter individual medley in 2013, and defended the title at the next worlds in 2015. He is a student at Waseda University.
- August 8, 2016
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