While many predicted that Japan’s Daiya Seto was in the running for a medal in the 400 IM, he wasn’t able to make it happen in the qualifying heats, and failed to make the final.
The field was insanely tight in the last two prelims heats, with Australia’s Brendon Smith taking the top seed in 4:09.27. Seto finished in 4:10.52, but that time wasn’t enough to secure a spot in the top 8.
He has won 10+ medals in the 400 IM in various international competitions and is considered one of the world’s best IM swimmers, so this outcome is certainly a surprise. Seto won bronze in the 400 IM at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, behind his teammate Kosuke Hagino and American Chase Kalisz.
He still has a chance to make it to the podium, though. Seto is swimming the 200 butterfly and 200 IM later this week.
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