102nd JAPANESE INTERCOLLEGIATE SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Thursday, September 3rd – Sunday, September 6th
Osaka, Towa Pharmaceutical Lactab Dome
LCM (50m)
Results
The 102nd Japanese Intercollegiate Swimming Championships began today in Osaka with a monumental performance taking place in the men’s 400m IM.
Racing in this evening’s final of the event, Olympic silver medalist Tomoyuki Matsushita fired off a new lifetime best, Japanese national and Asian continental record of 4:05.83.
21-year-old Matsushita entered entirely new territory, dipping beneath the 4:06 barrier for the first time ever.
Matsushita’s previous career best was a 4:06.75 produced for gold at this year’s Pan Pacific Championships. That garnered him the top spot ahead of Americans Carson Foster (4:07.11) and Bobby Finke (4:07.59) to secure the victory there in Irvine and render Matsushita the 9th-fastest performer of all time.
Tonight’s 4:05.83 means Matsushita hacked nearly an entire second off that already historic result to become the first Japanese man ever and just the 5th man worldwide to clear the 4:06 threshold.
His performance erased the longstanding national and Asian record of 4:06.05 retired icon Kosuke Hagino put on the books en route to winning gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Tonight, Matsushita got to the wall over two seconds ahead of his competitors, with Asaki Nishikawa securing silver in a stellar outing of 4:08.03, and Riku Yamaguchi bagging the bronze in 4:12.00. Of note, Nishikawa has been as quick as 4:07.67 in this event from November’s Japan Open, so he was right within range of his best ever.
Comparing his former and new PB, as well as Hagino’s former Asian record, Matsushita took his time on the front half but blasted a final 50m of 56.47.
Matsushita’s New Asian Record – 4:05.83
Hagino’s Former Asian Record – 4:06.05
Matsushita’s Former PB – 4:06.75
55.96
55.57
55.07
1:03.74
1:02.16
1:03.43
1:09.66
1:10.23
1:10.51
56.47
58.09
57.74
Matsushita is now the 4th-best performer in history, with tonight’s swim making him the fastest man outside of a major elite international meet.
Top 10 Men’s LCM 400 IM Performers All-Time
Leon Marchand (FRA) – 4:02.50, 2023 World Championships
Michael Phelps (USA) – 4:03.84, 2008 Olympic Games
Ryan Lochte (USA) – 4:05.18, 2012 Olympic Games
Tomoyuki Matsushita (JPN) – 4:05.83, 102nd Japanese Intercollegiate Swimming Championships
Chase Kalisz (USA) – 4:05.90, 2017 World Championships
Kosuke Hagino (JPN) – 4:06.05, 2016 Olympic Games
Daiya Seto (JPN) – 4:06.09, 2020 Kosuke Kitajima Cup
Laszlo Cseh (HUN) – 4:06.16, 2008 Olympic Games
Carson Foster (USA) – 4:06.56, 2022 World Championships
Tyler Clary (USA) – 4:06.96, 2009 USA National Championships
As a refresher, Matsushita earned Japan’s sole Olympic swimming medal at the 2024 Olympic Games when he placed runner-up behind Frenchman Leon Marchand. Matsushita hit a time of 4:08.62, a mark he utterly destroyed not only tonight but also via his recent efforts of 4:06.93 this past March and 4:07.21 in September 2025.
AloJapan.com