Ryosuke Irie, who did not make the grade for Japan over 200m backstroke at Melbourne 2007, clocked a national record of 1:56.33 at the Konami Open, in Nishinomiya today.

The standard had stood at 1:57.17 to Takashi Nakano since September 1, 2006 and is 7th best all-time. Many thanks to Sumire Watanabe for informing us.