Ryosuke Irie's 200m back time at Japanese Olympic trials

One of Ryan's biggest competitors in the 200m back is Ryosuke Irie of Japan.  Irie recently competed in the Japanese Olympic trials and came in first with a time of 1:54.03.  This time was only .01 slower than the fastest Irie has been able to go in textile, 1:54.02.  It is also very similar to the time Irie swam in Shanghai in 2011, when he placed second in 1:54.08.  Ryan's time in Shanghai was 1:52.96, which means Irie's best textile time is still more than 1 second slower.  Irie was understandably upset with his performance at trials.

According to swimnews.com, Irie's best times in the 200m back are:

1:52.51 (2009 - suit aided)
1:52.86 (2009 - suit aided)
1:53.73 (2009 - suit aided)
1:54.02 (2009 - suit aided)
1:54.02 (Jan. 2012) - Textile Best
1:54.03 (Apr. 2012)
1:54.08 (July 2011)
1:54.09 (2009 - suit aided)
1:54.11 (July 2011)
1:54.13 (2009 - suit aided)
1:54.14 (2009 - suit aided)

On the other hand, Ryan's best times in the 200m back are:

1:52.96 (July 2011) - Textile World Record
1:53.82  (2009 - suit aided)
1:53.94 (2008 - suit aided)
1:54.12 (Aug. 2010)
1:54.21 (2009 suit aided)
1:54.32 (2007)
1:54.34 (2008 - suit aided)

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20120408p2g00m0sp047000c.html

Swimming: Irie qualifies at 200 backstroke, but upset by performance

TOKYO (Kyodo) - Ryosuke Irie comfortably won the men's 200-meter backstroke final to qualify in a second race for the London Olympics on Saturday, but was far from thrilled by his winning time.

Irie, who took second to American Ryan Lochte at last year's world championships in Shanghai, clocked 1 minute, 54.03 seconds en route to victory - 2.8 seconds ahead of runner-up Kazuki Watanabe, who also qualified for the Summer Games.

Irie led from start to finish, improving on his mark from the worlds by 0.08 seconds, but described himself as "slow." Lochte's winning time in Shanghai was 1:52.96.

"I was slow. And that's the bottom line," said Irie, who also won the 100 with ease on Wednesday. "I was slow during the first half, and I was slow in the second half.

"I've set big goals for myself and I can't be satisfied with a time like this. I need to race more aggressively than I did tonight. My laps just aren't fast enough.

"I have a lot of work to do for the summer."

Japan head coach Norimasa Hirai said three-time Olympic gold medalist Lochte was on Irie's mind during the race, hence, the disappointment.

"Irie only has Ryan Lochte to beat," Hirai said. "I think he swam today as if he were swimming against Lochte. In order to beat Lochte, he's going to need to be faster over the first 150 meters."