was a Japanese

breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

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 represented his native country in three 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 1984. His best Olympic result was the 7th place (2:14.70) in the Men's 200m Breaststroke event at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. He was the grandson of

Hisakichi Toyoda (January 2, 1912 – October 7, 1976) was a Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifi ...

, who won a gold medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle in the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

. At the

1986 Asian Games The 1986 Asian Games ( ko, 1986년 아시아 경기대회/1986년 아시안 게임, Cheon gubaek palsip-yuk nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Cheon gubaek palsip-yuk nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 10th Asian Games and the X Asiad ( ko, 제10 ...

in Seoul, Watanabe won the gold medal in the 200m breaststroke and the bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke. Watanabe again won gold in the 200m breaststroke at the

1990 Asian Games The 1990 Asian Games also known as the XI Asiad and the 11th Asian Games ( zh, c=第十一届亚洲运动会, p=Dì shíyī jiè yàzhōu yùndònghuì), were held from September 22 to October 7, 1990, in Beijing, China. This was the first Asian Ga ...

in Beijing. He also won silver medals in the 100m breaststroke and the 4 × 100 m medley relay. Watanabe died at his home on September 18, 2017. He was 48 years old.Japanese Olympian Kenji Watanabe Passes Away at Home in Tokyo
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References

External links

* * 1969 births 2017 deaths Olympic swimmers of Japan Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 1986 Asian Games Swimmers at the 1990 Asian Games Japanese male breaststroke swimmers Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games 20th-century Japanese people {{Japan-swimming-bio-stub