17-Yr-Old Japanese Olympic Qualifier Mizuki Hirai Rips 56.33 100 Fly

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

62nd KANAGAWA PREFECTURAL HS ATHLETIC MEET (JPN)

• Friday, June 21st – Sunday, June 23rd
• Yokohama International Pool
• LCM (50m)
• Results

While the swimming community’s eyes are locked into the elite competitions happening around the world including the U.S. Olympic Trials and European Championships, a big-time performance emerged at a high school meet in Japan.

Racing on day one of the 62nd Kanagawa Prefectural Athlete Meet, 17-year-old Mizuki Hirai fired off a head-turning outing of 56.33 in the women’s 100m butterfly.

Hirai opened in 26.26 and closed in 30.07 to establish a new lifetime best. The outing overtook her previous career-quickest result of 56.91, the time she registered to win the event at this year’s Japanese Olympic Trials to qualify for next month’s Olympic Games. That previous PB included splits of 26.66/30.25.

Hirai broke through with the bronze at last year’s World Junior Championships. She punched a time of 58.35 there in Netanya so the teen has already dropped 2 seconds in less than a year in this pet event.

Her performances have been steadily putting the World Junior Record on notice. That WJR stands unofficially at the 56.20 and officially at the 56.43 American Claire Curzan put on the books in 2021,

In the meantime, Hirai remains Japan’s #2 performer in history and sits just .25 away from Rikako Ikee‘s national record of 56.08 notched in 2018.

Hirai’s rapid 56.33 mark now ranks her 6th in the world on the season.

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