First in human history to crack the seven-second barrier

Ippei Watanabe, a Waseda student at the School of Sport Sciences, set the new world record for the 200-m men’s breaststroke at 2 minutes 6.67 seconds in the Kosuke Kitajima Cup 2017 on January 29. He became the first in human history to go under 2 minutes 7 seconds.

Watanabe also broke the Olympic record in the same category during the semifinal round in Rio, in a time of 2 minutes 7.22 seconds, but finished sixth in the final. Since then, he has been training intensively for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Waseda University congratulates Watanabe for his remarkable achievements.