Kosuke Kitajima, who swept the breaststrokes at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, finished second in the 100m breaststroke at the Japanese Championships on Tuesday to boost his chances of making a fifth Olympics.
Kitajima, 33, clocked 59.93 seconds as runner-up to Yasuhiro Koseki‘s 59.66, but both fell shy of the Japanese Olympic qualifying standard of 59.63 at a meet being billed as an Olympic trials by swimming media.
However, Kitajima clocked 59.62 as the fastest man in the semifinals Monday.
Japan hasn’t announced whether Kitajima has been named to the Olympic team.