Narashino
is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
, the city had an estimated population of 175,292 in 81,985 households and a population density of 8400 persons per km². The total area of the city is
Geography
Narashino is located in far northw ...
,
Chiba
Chiba may refer to:
Places China
* (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei
Japan
* Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture
** Chiba Station, a train station
* Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...
) is a retired Japanese
backstroke
Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...
swimmer
Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...
. He won a gold medal at the
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
.
Swimming
Suzuki developed the swimming technique called underwater dolphin kick or what is known as the Berkoff Blastoff in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. This style in backstroke swimming was invented by either
David Berkoff
David Charles "Dave" Berkoff (born November 30, 1966) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. Berkoff was a backstroke specialist who won a total of four Olympic medals during h ...
or Jesse Vasallo. However, it was Suzuki who finally developed the skill, allowing him to swim 25 meters underwater at the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
held in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Four years later, he won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke at the 1988 Seoul Olympics where Berkoff also competed.
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...
. Its primary role is the coordination of a wide range of sports related functions and projects carried out by various government ministries. Specifically, the 121-person agency is tasked to improve Japan's athletic performance in the
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. On April 5, 2021, The
International Swimming Hall of Fame
The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...
(ISHOF) announced that Daichi Suzuki will be inducted into the ISHOF Class of 2021 as an "Honor Swimmer". In fact, Daichi Suzuki was announced by ISHOF that he would have been inducted into the ISHOF Class of 2020 in 2019, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 induction was postponed to 2021.
Educational background
*
Juntendo University
is a private university in Japan. Its headquarters are on its campus in Bunkyo, Tokyo, for the School of Medicine and in Inzai, Chiba, for the School of Health and Sports Science. The university was established in 1838 for medical and in 1946 f ...