After Years of Worldwide Success in Medley Events, Does Daiya Seto Have a Last Hurrah?
When the World Cup series opens this weekend in Carmel (Ind.), the men’s individual medley events will be headlined by the likes of France’s Leon Marchand and American Carson Foster. But the meet will also include Japan’s Daiya Seto, the 31-year-old veteran who has been one of the world’s premier medley performers for a little more than a decade.
At the 2012 World Short Course Championships in Istanbul, Seto claimed the first global title of his career when he prevailed in the 400-meter individual medley. A year later, he won the first of back-to-back gold medals in the 400 IM at the long-course version of the World Championships. During his career, Seto has captured eight medals at the World Champs (LC) in medley action, a complement to the 11 medals he has won in medley events at the World Short Course Champs.
At the first stop of the World Cup circuit, Seto is seeded third in the 400 medley and seventh in the 200 IM. Ahead of competition, an obvious question lingers: Is the Japanese star still capable of producing performances that rank among the elite in the sport? Marchand has obviously separated himself from the competition in the medley disciplines, evident in his Olympic titles and world-record efforts. Yet, can Seto challenge for the podium in the 200 IM and 400 IM.
At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Seto advanced to the finals of both medley events, placing seventh in each distance. Several months later, he was eighth in the 200 medley and ninth in the 400 medley at the World Short Course Champs. More, Tomoyuki Matsushita has emerged as the top medley swimmer in Japan, with a youthful contingent surging – especially over the 400-meter distance.
Perhaps Seto can fend off Father Time for a strong showing in World Cup competition, a scenario which would allow the longtime standout to write another successful chapter in his stellar career. Maybe there is another sub-4:00 clocking remaining in the 400 individual medley. If nothing else, Seto should be celebrated for his superb career, one defined by global success and consistency.
World Cup Entry Lists (Carmel)
