Double Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima won the men’s 100-meter breaststroke on the opening day of the Short Course National Championships on Saturday.
Kitajima clocked 58.34 seconds, well off his 25-meter pool national record of 57.95 seconds, at Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center, two weeks before the opening of the 2007 FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Kitajima is scheduled to race in the 200- and 50-meter events on Sunday.
Fellow Olympic gold medalist Ai Shibata set a new national record in winning the women’s 800 freestyle. She clocked 8:13.34 to trim 0.01 second off the previous record held by Sachiko Yamada.