2025 JAPAN SWIM
The final day of the 2025 Japan Swim unfolded from Tokyo today. The 4-day competition represented the sole qualifying opportunity for the nation’s swimmers to add their names to the roster for this summer’s World Championships in Singapore.
17-year-old Kazushi Imafuku already made noise in the mid-distance freestyle events here, including ripping a new personal best of 3:47.77 in the 400m free.
But the teen saved his best for last, unleashing a new Japanese national record en route to topping the men’s 1500m freestyle podium.
Racing in the fastest heat this evening, Kazushi ripped a monster time of 14:50.18 to get to the wall first.
He scored the sole time of the field under the 15:00 barrier, with Daichi Yamamoto next in line at 15:09.08 followed by Kenta Ozaki who touched in 15:18.16.
Imafuku’s performance surpassed the longstanding national record of 14:54.80 Kohei Yamamoto put on the books over 11 years ago in 2024.
Entering this competition, Imafuku’s lifetime best rested at the 14:59.97 he registered for gold at the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships so the teen hacked over 10 seconds off that previous performance to grab the gold here.
Splits for Imafuku’s 14:50.18 Japanese National Record
Imafuku now ranks #1 in the world, dethroning Olympic champion Florian Wellbrock of Germany. Additionally, his outing cleared the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard of 15:01.89 needed to qualify for the 2025 World Championships.
2FlorianWellbrock GER14:51.9112/103ZhangZhanshuoCHN14:54.0603/184OliverKlemet GER14:56.9312/105BobbyFINKEUSA14:58.6801/17View Top 26»
After the race, Imafuku told Asian media, “I practiced like crazy, and a lot of people supported me. I’ve come a long way, which I would never have been able to achieve on my own.”
