Breaststroke champ Kitajima warns against complacency

TOKYO (AFP) — Japanese swimming star Kosuke Kitajima has warned against any complacency in his defence of the double Olympic breaststroke titles after US rival Brendan Hansen failed to qualify for the 200-metre race.

"It was unfortunate, indeed," Kitajima said of Hansen's flop as he returned home from a month of altitude training in Flagstaff, Arizona, Japanese dailies reported Wednesday.

"They say I am favoured. But there is no change in my determination to achieve my goal without fail," the 25-year-old Kitajima told reporters at Tokyo's Narita airport on Tuesday.

At the US Olympic trials earlier this month, Hansen booked a 100m Olympic berth but foundered in the 200m by finishing fourth.

Last month, Kitajima slashed Hansen's two-year-old 200m world record by 0.99 seconds to 2:07.51 in a domestic meet, wearing Speedo's blockbuster LZR Racer bodysuit for the first time. ...