(born June 22, 1971 in

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

) is a retired

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

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 ...

from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He represented his native country at two consecutive

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

, starting in 1992. He is best known for winning a silver medal at the

1995 Summer Universiade The 1995 Summer Universiade, also known as the XVIII Summer Universiade, took place in Fukuoka, Japan. Emblem The symbol mark is a motif of "U", expressing passion and energy in the flickering flames of a burning torch. In the flames one sees bot ...

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

. He competed for the

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

References

* 1971 births Living people Japanese male butterfly swimmers Olympic swimmers for Japan Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 1990 Asian Games Swimmers at the 1994 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan Japanese male backstroke swimmers Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games Universiade medalists in swimming Universiade silver medalists for Japan Medalists at the 1995 Summer Universiade 20th-century Japanese people Sportspeople from Gifu {{japan-swimming-bio-stub