Raito Numata Breaks Junior Pan Pacific Record in 400 IM
17-year-old Raito Numata of Japan has set a new Junior Pan Pacific record in the 400 IM event at the 2026 Junior Pan Pacific Championships.
The 2026 Junior Pan Pacific Championships are underway at the UBC Aquatic Centre in Vancouver, Canada. The event, which took place from August 17-20, featured a range of talented young swimmers competing in various events.
### Boys' 400 IM - Final Results
| Rank | Name | Time | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Raito Numata (JPN) | 4:09.82 *JPP Record* | | 2 | Yi Zheng (USA) | 4:14.94 | | 3 | Ayumu Negiushi (JPN) | 4:15.44 | | 4 | Andre Labara (AUS) | 4:16.88 | | 5 | Anthony Dornoff (USA) | 4:21.82 | | 6 | Cael Eley (AUS) | 4:23.79 | | 7 | Reagan Cheng (SGP) | 4:25.59 | | 8 | Liam Chew (CAN) | 4:25.84 | | 9 | Pedro Henrique Oliveira Medrado (BRA) | 4:28.91 | | 10 | Colt Chaires (CAN) | 4:30.30 |
Raito Numata, a 17-year-old swimmer from Japan, has made a significant impact at the championships by breaking the Junior Pan Pacific record in the 400 IM event. With a time of 4:09.82, Numata shaved over 2 seconds off Chase Kalisz's meet record, winning the title by over 5 seconds.
Numata's achievement is all the more impressive considering his personal best time of 4:10.29, set just two months ago at the Japanese Nationals. His victory marks a significant milestone in his career, as he joins the long list of IM specialists from Japan. In fact, Numata is now one of the youngest swimmers to break the 4:10 barrier, alongside Kosuke Hagino and Yumeki Kojima, who achieved this feat at the ages of 17 and 16, respectively.
The Japanese team has been a dominant force in the 400 IM event, with Tomoyuki Matsushita taking gold in the senior Pan Pacific Championships last week with a time of 4:06.75. This achievement has set a high standard for young swimmers like Numata to strive for.
### Splits Comparison
Numata's backstroke was the key factor in breaking both Kalisz's record and lowering his own PB. He was over 2 seconds faster than his previous best on that second 100, creating a large enough deficit to drop despite being slower on both the breast and free legs. In comparison to Kalisz, Numata was quicker on every leg besides the breaststroke - one of Kalisz's infamous strengths.
