After a year of adversity, Japan's top backstroke swimmer Ryosuke Irie is back in the spotlight, trying to once again be one of the world's best.
After his 200-meter backstroke race at the Japan Open on Sunday at Tokyo Tatsumi International Pool, Irie, who won with a time of 1 minutes, 54.63 seconds, said that he wanted to notch an even faster time. But despite his words, Irie wore a slight smile on his face, indicating that he felt satisfied with his performance.
After all, he had triumphed in three of the four races in which he competed during the annual tourney. That included a victory in the men's 200-meter individual medley relay, which is not his specialty but a race he chooses to compete in to strengthen his backstroke.