Swimming: Hagino wins men's 400m individual medley gold
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Kosuke Hagino won the men's Olympic 400 meters individual medley on Saturday to give Japan the first swimming gold medal of the Rio Games.
Hagino, the bronze medalist in London in 2012, won with a time of four minutes 6.05 seconds to end a U.S. stranglehold on the event dating back to 1996.
Chase Kalisz of the United States, who had been fastest in the heats, finished second and Japan's Daiya Seto took the bronze.
Hagino's time was the third fastest ever and the fastest by a non-American swimmer.
Olympic champion Ryan Lochte of the United States did not qualify for the event at the U.S. trials and nor did world record holder Michael Phelps, the winner in 2004 and 2008.
American Tom Dolan won the event in 1996 and 2000.
Hagino's win made up for missing out on the world championships last year due to injury, a gold that Seto won in his team mate's absence.
Seto led for the first 100 meters, covering the opening 50 meters of the butterfly leg inside world record pace, but Hagino was ahead at the 150 mark and led the rest of the way with Kalisz passing Seto at the end of the breaststroke leg.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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