Ikee Dominates Women’s 50 Fly at the 2025 Japanese Short Course Championships

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

67th JAPANESE SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Saturday, October 18th & Sunday, October 19th
• Tokyo Aquatics Center
• SCM (25m)
• SwimSwam Preview
• Entries
• Results

We saw day one of the 67th Japanese Short Course Championships unfold tonight from the Tokyo Aquatics Center. With the competition spanning just two days, this evening’s finals featured a packed agenda, bringing us some thrilling swims from the site of the 2020 Olympic Games.

We reported how 18-year-old University of Tennessee swimmer Mizuki Hirai posted a new World Junior Record in the women’s 50m back.

Hirai fired off a time of 25.95 to take the gold, becoming the first-ever Japanese woman to delve under the 26-second barrier. You can read more about her impressive performance here.

25-year-old Rikako Ikee topped the women’s 50m fly podium, turning in a time of 25.60.

That was enough to hold off Yua Goto who snagged silver in 25.93 as Airi Nishi bagged the bronze in 26.14.

Ikee remains the Japanese national record holder, owning a lifetime best of 24.71 from the 2018 Tokyo New Year Championships.

As a refresher, Ikee recently returned to Japan after having trained at Griffith University in Australia since 2023.

She reportedly has suffered from back pain the past couple of weeks, according to Asian media.

Sekai Seya was the top 50m fly performer on the men’s side, sneaking to the wall in a mark of 22.50, just .03 ahead of runner-up Nakao Shunichi.

Shunichi settled for runner-up status in 22.53 while Suda Yusuke also produced 22.53 to share that tier of the podium.

Kazusa Kuroda won the men’s 200m free in a time of 1:43.42, getting to the wall over two seconds ahead of the competition.

His effort represented a big-time personal best, crushing his former PB of 1:44.55.

Eida Kawakura was next to the wall in 1:45.44 and Tenma Watanabe rounded out the podium in 1:45.65.

Kuroda of Konami New Sapporo now checks in as Japan’s 6th-fastest man in history.

Junior Pan Pacific Championships gold medalist Kotomi Kato put on a show in the women’s 100m breaststroke, roaring to the wall in a speedy 1:04.99.

Opening in 30.65 and bringing it home in 34.34, Kato’s result beat the field by well over a second.

Yuyumi Obatake was next to the wall in 1:06.41 and Saki Sakata rounded out the podium in 1:07.14.

Kato’s outing was within range of her best-ever, a result of 1:04.54 established at the 2024 edition of this meet to become Japan’s 6th-fastest performer ever.

Yuya Nihon grabbed the gold in the men’s 100m breast, hitting 56.74 as the sole competitor under 57 seconds.

Yuta Arai logged 57.72 for silver and Taiga Nemoto wrapped up bronze in 57.78.

Nihon’s performance enters him in the list of the top 5 Japanese performers of all time.

Top 5 Japanese Men’s SCM 100 Breaststroke Performers All-Time

1. Yuya Hinomoto – 55.77, 2021
2. Yasuhiro Koseki – 56.11, 2020
3. Taku Taniguchi – 56.27, 2024
4. Yuya Nihon – 56.74, 2025
5. Shin Ohashi – 56.79, 2025

Additional Winners

• Yume Kano clinched the women’s 50m free victory by just under half a second. Kano clocked 24.32 as the gold medalist. Aya Funeoshi wrangled up silver in 24.72 and Momoi Matsuura rounded out the podium in 24.73. Ikee was indeed among the field in this morning’s heats but finished 10th.
• The men’s 50m free saw Miki House’s Tomonobu Gomi earn the top spot, but he wasn’t alone. Katsumi Nakamura touched simultaneously, with both men hitting 21.41. Yusuke Suda was the bronze medalist in 21.51. Gomi’s effort represented a new lifetime best, shaving .03 off his effort at last year’s version of this meet.
• Yui Fukuoka logged a time of 1:55.89 to win the women’s 200m freestyle, representing the sole athlete of tonight’s final to clear the 1:56 threshold. Rika Okamura produced 1:56.23 as the silver medalist and distance ace Miyu Namba also landed on the podium in 1:56.66, good enough for bronze. Fukuoka’s time checked in as a huge personal best, erasing the 1:56.57 notched last year. Fukuoka now represents Japan’s 9th-best performer in history.
• Namba also took on the 800m free today, posting a result of 8:25.96 to beat the pack by over 10 seconds. However, Namba’s personal best has been much quicker, owning the Japanese national record with the 8:12.98 logged at the 2022 Short Course World Championships.
• Genki Terakado notched the victory in the men’s 200m fly, turning in a time of 1:50.41. That narrowly defeated So Ogata who touched in 1:50.62 ahead of Keigo Fukuda who nabbed bronze in 1:52.42. Terakado’s time tonight sliced .12 off the 1:50.53 produced last year.
• Kazushi Imafuku took the men’s 1500m free, logging 14:40.30 ahead of the pack. He owns a lifetime best of 14:36.32 from last year.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2025 Japanese Short Course Championships: Ikee Tops Women’s 50 Fly