Japan swim king Kosuke Kitajima was furious at himself on Tuesday after failing in his bid to qualify for this summer’s Rio Olympics in the men’s 100 metres breaststroke.
The 33-year-old, who won double gold in the 100 and 200m breaststroke at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Games, had been expected to qualify for his fifth Olympics.
But Kitajima cut a forlorn figure after losing his battle with Yasuhiro Koseki at the Japanese championships as both missed out on the qualifying mark of 59.63 seconds.
“I’m speechless,” a dejected Kitajima told reporters after clocking 59.93 in the Tokyo final, a day after dipping under the Rio standard in the semi-finals.
