SHOCKING! World Champion Daiya Seto Fails to Qualify for 400M IM Finals at Tokyo Olympics 2020

The Tokyo Olympics swimming events have started and fans witnessed a shock in the very first event. Daiya Seto, the local boy from Japan, failed to qualify for the men’s 400-meter individual medley relay competition in Tokyo. Being the outright favorite to win the event, the result came as a shock to Seto following his Olympic medal ambitions. The result was massively disappointing for the home crowd as Seto was touted to break Michael Phelps’ longstanding record in the medley event.

But Seto would have to shrug this off and get ready for the 200 medley event if he aspires to win a medal at Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Daiya Seto fails to qualify for the 400IM finals

The 400-meter individual medley race was interesting as the top eight swimmers with the best times qualify for Sunday’s finals. Brendon Smith, Lewis Clareburt, Chase Kalisz, David Verraszto, Alberto Razzetti, Jay Litherland, Leon Marchand, and Max Litchfield all qualified for Sunday’s final.

Seto finished with a time of 4:10.52, which was not enough to get him past his fellow competitors. The swimmer from Japan is the current gold medalist in both the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley events after his performances in the World Championships in Gwangju. Despite his legendary performances in 2019, Seto failed to make the cut at Tokyo Olympics 2020 on Saturday. The result comes as a bitter disappointment for this talented swimmer who was hoping to win a gold medal in front of the home crowd.

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Brendon Smith and Lewis Clareburt shine in Tokyo Olympics swimming heats

Brendon Smith gave the best swim of his career by posting a time of 4:09.27. The Australian swimmer is now in the driving seat to win the event. Meanwhile, Lewis Clareburt also put in a fantastic performance by finishing with a time of 4:09.49, which was the second best time in the Olympic heats. Chase Kalisz from the US and David Verraszto shone in the heat events and look to challenge the aforementioned racers in the big final tomorrow. Kalisz is one of the best medley swimmers from the US and will hope to improve his time come tomorrow.

Notably, Alberto Razzetti from Italy put on an incredible performance as well, with a time of 4:09.91. The US swimming contingent has pinned high hopes on Jay Litherland while he produced a stunning performance. The swimmer finished with a time of 4:09.91 despite finishing third in the heats qualification.

To sum up, Leon Marchand and Max Litchfield took home the last places which knocked Seto out of the competition.

The shock comes as an enormous blow for Japan’s medal hopes in the Olympics. Despite bowing out in the 400m individual medley event, Seto will look to move past it and compete in the 200m Individual medley. All’s not lost for this talented swimmer from Japan.

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