was a Japanese

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 ...

freestyle swimmer. In 1948, he set world records in the 400 and 1,500 meter freestyles at the Japan national championships. Furuhashi and Japan were not allowed to compete at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

because of Japan's role in

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 opposing ...

. Kyodo News,
Furuhashi, legendary swimmer, dead at 80
, '' Japan Times'', August 4, 2009.Odeven, Ed,
Swim legend Furuhashi inspired Japan at tough time
, '' Japan Times'', August 9, 2009, p. 18. Because of his achievement at the 1949 U.S. National Championships of Aquatics, in which he set new world records of

freestyle swimming Freestyle is a category of Swimming (sport), 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 ar ...

in all distance categories, Furuhashi was referred to by the US media as "the

flying fish The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird d ...

Fujiyama , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highes ...

".Passages: Japan's Flying Fish Hironoshin Furuhashi, 80
Swimming World Magazine August 2, 2009 Furuhashi competed in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

, but did not perform well because of the lingering effects of

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

which he had contracted during a swimming tour of South America in 1950. In total, Furuhashi set 33 world records during his swimming career. After retiring from competitive swimming, he served as president of the

Japanese Olympic Committee The is the National Olympic Committee in Japan for the Olympic Games movement, based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams and raises funds to send Japanese competitors to Olympic events organised by the Internati ...

for five terms until retiring in 1999. On August 2, 2009, he was found dead in his sleep at his hotel room in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he was staying for the

2009 World Aquatics Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships ( it, Campionati mondiali di nuoto 2009) or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. The 2009 Championships featured competition in all 5 aquatics disciplines ...

World records

Official

;1949 U.S. Championships *400m freestyle 4:33.3 *800m freestyle 9:33.5 *1500m freestyle 18:19.0

Unofficial

;1947 Japan Championships *400m freestyle 4:38.4

Honours

*Vice President -

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

*Honorary Chairman -

Japan Swimming Federation The , is the national federation for Aquatics in Japan. It oversees Japan's Swimming, Diving, Water Polo and Synchronized Swimming competitive programs. It was founded on October 31, 1924.Junior third rank The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the state. ''Ikai'' as a system was originally used in the Ritsuryo system, which was the polit ...

(2009; posthumous) *

Order of Culture The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipient ...

(2008) * Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class (2003) *Chairman -

(1990–99) *Vice President of Organizing Committee -

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

*Vice President of Organizing Committee -

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 ...

*Chairman of Organizing Committee -

1994 Asian Games The 1994 Asian Games ( ja, 1994年アジア競技大会, ''Senkyūhyakukyūjūyon-nen Ajia kyōgi taikai''), also known as the XII Asiad and the 12th Asian Games ( ja, 第12回アジア競技大会, Daijūni-kai Ajia kyōgi taikai), were held from ...

* Person of Cultural Merit (1993) *Secretary General - 1985 Summer Universiade *Shiju Hosho Order (1983) *

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 s ...

(1967)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furuhashi, Hironoshin 1928 births 2009 deaths Japanese swimming coaches People from Hamamatsu Olympic swimmers of Japan Swimmers at the 1952 Summer Olympics World record setters in swimming Japanese amputees Nihon University faculty Nihon University alumni Recipients of the Order of Culture Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class Sports articles needing translation from Japanese Wikipedia Japanese male freestyle swimmers Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon 1998 Winter Olympics 1998 Winter Paralympics

World records

Official

Unofficial

Honours

See also

References