Modified on July 25, 2003
World Swimming Championships Barcelona 2003
*Kitajima clinches another gold and world record
Kosuke Kitajima is incredible. On July 24, he swam the men's 200 meter breaststroke final, and
showed he was invincible. He broke the world record clocking 2 minutes 9.42 seconds.
He said after the race that his performance should pave the way for next year...meaning to the Olympic Games in Athens.
Japan won more medals on the same day.
In the women's Noriko Inada won the bronze in the 50 meter backstroke, while Yuko Nakanishi did too in the 200 meter butterfly.
*Yamamoto wins 2nd place in butterfly
2 time Olympian Takashi Yamamoto won his very first medal in a global event.
It's the silver in the men's 200 meter butterfly and
celebrated his 25th birthday on July 23.
Cheering him on, his wife and former star swimmer Suzu Chiba (maiden name).
He clocked 1 min 55.52 seconds.
*Kitajima clinches a gold and world record
20 year-old Kosuke Kitajima who was slightly behind in the men's 100 meter breaststroke with just 10 meters to go
sprinted. He not only finished first. He clocked 59.78 seconds to break the world record on July 22 in
Barcelona's World Championship.
*Japan clinches synchronized swimming gold
The Japanese team made history on July 16.
It's in the free routine combination event at the World Swimming Championships in Barcelona.
It's the first time the competition is official in the championships.
The team consisting of 8 artists/ athletes performed to "Lion King" and earned 98.500 points to
beat the US and Spanish teams.
Japan also clinched 2 silvers in the synchronized swimming events.
In 2002
Kitajima breaks world record at Asian Games
20 yearold Kosuke Kitajima clocked 2 minutes 9.92 seconds in the 200 meter breaststroke.
He broke the 10 year old world record at the Asian Games in Busan on Oct 2.
Realizing the feat, he yelled in jubilee in the pool.
Of course he won the gold medal.
Yamada breaks world record
In the national short course competition held in Tokyo on April 2, Sachiko Yamada clocked 8 minutes 14.35 seconds
in the women's 800 meter freestyle.
It's the first time a woman swimmer broke the freestyle world record.
In 2001
World Swimming Championships Fukuoka 2001 July 16 to 29
It's the first time the championships is held in Asia.
Synchronized swimming competitions were held first.
And first of the Japanese to win a medal was Miya Tachibana on July 19 in the solo event.
She finished 3rd.
On July 20, she won a medal again. This time the top post with Miho Takeda in the duet.
They put on a comical show which was well put together and received by the audience.
And in the team event the following day, Japan clinched the silver.
Among the men, the first to clinch a medal was Ken Terauchi. He came in third in the 3 meter diving event on July 24. But the following day, he pulled out from other events due to a knee injury.
In the women's 4 X 200 meter relay on July 25, Japan finished 5th, or it seemed. After the race it was judged that Australia did not relay properly, and then the US. The US, however, complained. And the judges appeared to listen to them, but then Japan complained. It was finally decided the next day that Australia and the US were both disqualified. Japan won the bronze.
On July 26, another medal for Japan. Kosuke Kitajima clocked 2 min.11.21 breaking the Japan record to win the bronze medal in the men's 200 meter breaststroke.
In the women's 100 meter butterfly, veteran Junko Onishi finished the race third on July 28. She's the oldest on the women's team at 26. By the way, Australia's Ian Thorpe clinched his 6th goal this day in the men's medley relay.
In 2000
font size=4>CAS rules Suzu case
2-time Olympian Suzu Chiba complained for not having been selected on the Sydney Olympic team.
She had exceeded the world A record to win the 200 meter freestyle race in April.
And for the first time in the history of Japanese sports, the matter was brought to the
decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. A hearing was held of Aug. 3 in Tokyo.
CAS decided ruled out Chiba's complaint but ordered the Japan Amateur Swimming Federation to
pay a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs for not having been clear about the Olympic selection.
This was a report of great concern that about 250 press and 30 TV cameras
gathered at the press conference pronouncing the result.
Chiba said that she is satisfied with the judgement.
While the JASF for the first time disclosed that it's selected Olympians on 3 criteria.
One of them was 8th in the world in 1999 for women.
Chiba was 17.
World record broken by Nakamura
At the national championship in Tokyo, on Apr.23, 2000,
Mai Nakamura clocked 28.67 seconds in the 50 meter backstroke.
She broke the world record which Spain Nina Zivanevskaya held by 0.02 seconds. .
It's the first time since Mayumi Aoki, a 100 meter butterfly gold medalist in Munich 1972 that
a Japanese challenged the record.
However, she will not go to the Olympic Games in Sydney for this achievement,
since the race is not among the Olympic competitions.
In 1998
Gold rush at the Asian Games
Japanese men and women clinched medals after medals in the 14th Asian Games in
Thailand. The very last swimming competition was held on Dec. 12 in which
Masato Hirano topped the 1500 meter race.
In all, Japan won 15 golds to win back its place as the Asian champion from China.
China took 13 golds.
Japanese medals at the World Championships in Perth
16 year-old Yasuko Tajima clinched the bronze medal in the 400 meter individual medley at the
World Swimming Championships in Perth on Jan. 11.
She clocked 4 minutes 39.45 seconds, breaking the Japanese record.
It's the first time a Japanese won a medal in this event.
The last time Japan had won medals in the swimming races at the World Championships was in 1991.
Then in the synchronized swimming's individual event on Jan.13, Miya Tachibana came in 3rd
with a routine danced to Japanese traditional style music.
Also in the duet, Miya, with Miho Takeda won the silver medal.
It's Japan's 3 straight silver medal in the duet at the
World Championships. In the team competition too, Japan won another silver.
Japan's medal rush did not stop there.
In competitive swimming, Mai Nakamura
clocked 1 minute 1.28 seconds in the 100 meter backstroke for the
silver medal. She was 4th at the Atlanta Olympic Games. Then on Jan. 15 in the
women's 100 meter Ayari Aoyama also clinched the silver by breaking
the Japan record she herself held finishing in 58.79 seconds.
The next day, the women's 400 meter relay was held. There, the Japanese team,
which include Nakamura and Aoyama came in third and broke the national record at
4 min 6.27 seconds. It's the first time ever that Japan clinched a medal
in the relay. Actually, Mai Nakamura won another medal on Jan. 17 in the
200 meter backstroke. She came in third.
2001 Championships given to Fukuoka
For the first time, the World Swimming Championships will be held in Asia.
On Jan. 10, FINA announced that Japan's southern city Fukuoka has been
chosen as the site for the 2001 Championships.
Fukuoka and Barcelona were the final bidders to the championships.
In 1997
The first all-women swimming competitions
Dubbed the first masters swimming event only for women,
the Women's Swim Festival was held in Chiba Prefecture on Oct.4 and 5, 1997.
The nearly 2000 participants were those belonging to swimming clubs all over Japan.
They include, former Olympians in the 1936 Berlin Games and
1964 Tokyo Games.
The world record was broken in the 100 meter breaststroke
of the 70 to 74 year old division.
The photo on the right was taken by Michiyo during the event.
Aoyama marks the best time in the world
Ayari Aoyama clocked 59.03 seconds in the 100 meter butterfly at the East Asian Games in South Korea
on May 14, 1997.
It's the best time recorded in the world so far this year. Of course, she won the gold medal
in the competition.
Aoyama, who is known for her long submarine style start has shortned it to 30 meters in this race.
She is believed to have deliberately done so to gradually get conform herself to the new rule of
15 meters restriction that is expected to be officially approved in January 1998.
Short course record is broken
Atlanta Olympic swimmer Ayari Aoyama broke the world record in the
junior national competition. The 15-year old clocked 58.24 seconds in the 100 meter butterfly.
She improved the former record holding time by .05 seconds.
The feat was achieved at Tokyo's Tatsumi International Swimming Center
on Mar. 28, 1997. It's the first time in 25 years that a Japanese swimmer
has broken the world record.
The short course is competed in a 25 meter pool--half the size
of the Olympic pool. Records sets in these events have been officially recognized by the
International Amateur Swimming Federation since March 1991.
Aoyama was 6th in the Olympic 100 meters in 1996
