was a Japanese

freestyle swimmer Freestyle is a category of swimming competition, defined by the rules of the International Swimming Federation (FINA), in which competitors are subject to a few limited restrictions on their swimming stroke. Freestyle races are the most common ...

who competed at the

1936 Olympics 1936 Olympics may refer to: *The 1936 Winter Olympics, which were held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany *The 1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI ...

. He won a gold medal in 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, setting a world record. In the individual 100 m race he finished almost simultaneously with

Masanori Yusa was a Japanese freestyle swimmer. He won gold medals in the 4 × 200 m relay in the 1932 and 1936 Olympics, setting world records on both occasions. In 1936 he finished almost simultaneously with Shigeo Arai and Masaharu Taguchi in the 100 m rac ...

and

Masaharu Taguchi was a Japanese freestyle swimmer. At the 1936 Olympics he won a gold medal in the 4 × 200 m relay, setting a new world record. In the individual 100 m race he finished almost simultaneously with Masanori Yusa and Shigeo Arai and was placed four ...

and was awarded a bronze medal. Those Games were the only international competition for Arai, though he won three national titles in the 100 m and four in the 200 m freestyle between 1937 and 1940. While serving in the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was killed in action in Burma.Shigeo Arai
sports-reference.com

References

1916 births 1944 deaths Japanese military personnel killed in World War II Olympic swimmers of Japan Olympic gold medalists for Japan Olympic bronze medalists for Japan Swimmers at the 1936 Summer Olympics World record setters in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Rikkyo University alumni Japanese male freestyle swimmers Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II 20th-century Japanese people {{Japan-Olympic-medalist-stub

See also

References