The conclusion of the 2024 Japanese Olympic Trials this past March brought about the naming of 27 athletes to the nation’s roster for this summer’s Games in Paris, France.
With the highs of being nominated to the squad come the lows of racing mainstays missing out on their dream of an Olympic appearance, bringing about several retirement announcements.
We reported how backstroking icon Ryosuke Irie decided to hang up his goggles after a stellar career that spanned nearly 20 years.
Then 29-year-old butterfly sprinter Takeshi Kawamoto revealed he would be retiring from competitive swimming.
Since then, additional names have been added to the list, representing the end of an era and a new dawn of talent within Japan.
As a testament to this fact, 13 of the 27 Olympians for Paris are first-timers while the roster also includes 3 swimmers just 17 years of age.
Here are the additional retirement announcements of which we’ve been made aware, along with the athlete’s top career highlights.
- Shogo Takeda – 2018 Asian Games silver in men’s 800m free, 2023 Asian Games bronze in 1500m free; Japanese national record holder in SCM 800 and 1500 freestyle events
- Nao Horomura – 2018 Asian Games silver in men’s 200m fly & men’s 4x100m medley relay
- Ryuya Mura – 7th in the men’s 200m breast and 13th in the 100m breast at the 2020 Olympic Games
- Naito Ehara – bronze in men’s 4x200m free relay at the 2016 Olympic Games; gold in men’s 4x200m free relay and men’s 400m free at the 2018 Asian Games
- Ippei Miyamoto – men’s 200m breaststroke bronze medal at the 2015 World Junior Championships