Kosuke Kitajima won the men's 200m breaststroke at the Japanese National Championships Friday to keep alive his bid for a third Olympic double in London this year. The 29-year-old, who stormed to gold in the 100m and 200m at the 2004 and 2008 Games, became the first Japanese swimmer to qualify for four Olympics by breaking his own national record in the 100 earlier this week. Kitajima clocked two minutes 8.00 seconds to win the 200 at Tokyo's Tatsumi Pool, fighting off a determined last 50 from Ryo Tateishi, who touched in 2:08.17. Both men beat Hungarian Daniel Gyurta's world championship winning time of 2:08.41 in Shanghai last year. Kitajima's national record stands at 2:07.51 while Australia's Christian Sprenger holds the world record at 2:07.31. “You expect it of Kosuke but for both he and Tateishi to swim faster than the Shanghai gold medal time is amazing,” said Japan coach Norimasa Hirai.
