By Retta Race on SwimSwam
Japan’s 21-year-old Shoon Mitsunaga was one of the breakout stars of this year’s Asian Games, posting lifetime bests to help Japan’s overall medal haul in Tokyo.
Mitsunaga fired off a Games Record-setting result of 50.56 to grab gold in the men’s 100m butterfly, taking down the Japanese national record in the process.
That was after he crushed a monster split of 49.74 on the fly leg on the previous day’s silver medal-earning men’s medley relay, hitting the 3rd-fastest split in history.
Mitsunaga’s time also eliminated the longstanding Asian Games record of 51.04 Olympic champion Joseph Schooling of Singapore established at the 2018 Games. Mitsunaga is now Asia’s #2 men’s 100m butterfly performer of all time.
Mitsunaga then posted his 2nd Asian Games Record in as many days, clocking 23.19 in the heats of the men’s 50m fly.
He wound up finishing with the silver in 23.06 in the medal-contending race, tying his own Japanese Record from March.
With these impressive performances under his belt, the sprinter is turning his eyes to the 2028 Olympic Games, aiming to not only grab the gold but to help re-establish the nation of Japan as a formidable swimming force.
The Matsudo City native told Asian media, “I want to win a gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in two years and prove the strength of Japanese swimming.”
Mitsunaga said of his experience at the Asian Games, “I received tremendous support because it was held in my hometown. I was able to turn that support into my own strength, maintain a calm race strategy, swim to the end, and beat the Chinese swimmer. It has given me confidence.”
He also said, “I put pressure on myself to achieve results at the Asian Games held in Japan in order to revitalize the stagnant Japanese swimming world. I was able to use that as motivation, and I was able to grow as a person.”
When asked about his challenges, he said, “My problems are surfacing at the start, the dolphin kick after the turn, and getting tired in the second half. It was only after entering university that I started to think about my swimming and learn from my races to improve next time. My coach tells me I have room to grow.” (Mainichi)
With the likes of Olympic champions Yui Ohashi and Kosuke Hagino having retired, Japan was lackluster at the past two editions of the Games. At the 2024 edition in Paris, for example, Tomoyuki Matsushita was the sole medalist, earning silver in the men’s 400m IM. This was after the nation earned 11 swimming medals in London in 2012, followed by 7 in Rio in 2016.
Mitsunaga will have his hands full in LA, however, where the men’s 1fly competition will no doubt be fierce. The field has the potential to include such weapons as Kristof Milak of Hungary, Maxime Grousset of France, Josh Liendo of Canada, and Swiss swimmer Noe Ponti. It has taken a sub-50-second result to achieve gold at the past two editions of the Olympics, which means Mitsunaga has two years to get into that zone in order to challenge for the top of the podium.
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