[ODDS and EVENS] Japan's National Swimming Program at the Crossroads

At the Paris Games, Japan's men's and women's swimming squads had their worst combined showing at an Olympic Games in the 21st century.

For Team Japan, there was one medal highlight in France. Tomoyuki Matsushita collected a silver medal in the men's 400-meter individual medley final on July 28.

Matsushita is 19 years old and has his sights set on more success in the pool at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"I'm the only one who won a medal this time," he pointed out, according to Tokyo Sports. "But there are other talented athletes besides me. I want to work with those people and the whole team to liven up the swimming world."

Before Matushita was born, Japan didn't win a swimming gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. But it brought home four medals (two silver, two bronze).

At the 2012 London Games, Japan's swimmers didn't grab a gold medal, either. But the national swimming squads had a combined 11 medals (three silver, eight bronze). That was its biggest Olympic medal haul in the sport in the 21st century.

There have been a number of notable swimming performances by Japanese Olympians in the 21st century, including Ai Shibata's victory in the women's 800-meter freestyle final at the 2004 Athens Games. In winning the race, Shibata became the first Japanese female to triumph in an Olympic freestyle final.

What's more, Kosuke Kitajima's consecutive gold medal-winning breaststroke double (100 meters and 200 meters) in Athens and four years later at the 2008 Beijing Olympics is legendary.

Finding a New Gold Standard

Kitajima remains the gold standard in Japanese swimming.

He was mentored and developed into a world-class swimmer by veteran coach Norimasa Hirai, who also oversaw Yui Ohashi's rise to stardom. 

At the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Ohashi won both of Japan's medals in the pool, the women's 200 and 400 IM finals. (The host nation had a total of three swimming medals at Tokyo 2020.)

Five years earlier, at the Rio Games, Team Japan finished with a seven-medal haul in swimming, including now-retired Kosuke Hagino's victory in the men's 400 IM and Rie Kaneto's in the women's 200 breaststroke. Hirai also coached Hagino.

A Call to Overhaul the Japan Swimming Federation

Reflecting on Team Japan's results in Paris after returning to Tokyo, Hirai spoke about the need to overhaul the Japan Swimming Federation, including rebuilding "organizational strength," Sports Nippon reported.

The 61-year-old coach said, "I know the schedule was difficult this time, with Tokyo being postponed for a year, but now that Paris is over, I think it's time for us to make some changes."

Hirai, who is as passionate about coaching as any elite-level coach I've ever met in any sport, cares deeply about the future of Japanese swimming.

Which is why his thoughts on the subject are important.

Why did Japan's swimming teams have such a dismal showing in Paris?

"I think it is a lack of leadership," Hirai said bluntly, according to Sports Nippon.

Additional Swimming Insights from Coach Hirai

Hirai reminded reporters that the Japan Swimming Federation dispatched a team to the Paris Olympics without an official head coach. Instead, Takayuki Umemura presided over the delegation as team director. There were several coaches listed on the official roster.

"We have not had a head coach since Budapest (the 2022 World Athletics Championships), and I have never heard of a team without a head coach. I wondered why they did that," he was quoted as saying by Sports Nippon, raising an important question.

"This is not a criticism, but a feeling."

Looking ahead, instead of dwelling on past success, Hirai, a former national team head coach, delivered a message to the Japanese swimming community on August 6 during a news conference at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. It was especially directed at JSF decision makers with a call to action. 

"We must make major reforms," Hirai said, according to Sports Hochi. 

Such as?

"We need to make changes in organizational skills and coaching," Hirai told reporters. "Especially in terms of organization, I feel that it's not possible right now."

Although there are four years until the Los Angeles Games, the clock is already ticking. 

Time is of the essence for Japan's swimming community to address systemic issues within the sport's hierarchy and relaunch its efforts to build a path toward achieving Olympic success in 2028.

RELATED:

• Tomoyuki Matsushita Earns Silver Medal in the Men's 400-Meter IM
• [JAPAN SPORTS NOTEBOOK] Kosuke Kitajima to be Inducted into International Swimming Hall of Fame in September
• EDITORIAL | Olympics Controversies No Reason to Defame Athletes, Judges

Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.