It's already been 43 years since the 1964 Olympic Games were held in Tokyo. I have a long history of involvement in the world of sports, having participated in the Olympic Games both as an athlete and as a Games official, so in light of the fact that more and more young Japanese never experienced the Tokyo Olympic Games that stirred up so much excitement all over Japan, I want to express my support for Tokyo's bid to host 2016 Olympic Games for a second time.
Hironoshin Furuhashi, March 5, 2007
© 2007 TOKYO 2016 Olympic Games Bid Committee
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A national hero who held a number of key posts in the sports world and was honorary president of the Japan Swimming Federation, Furuhashi set world records in the men's 400-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle events at the national championships in 1948.
He set the marks at the same time of the 1948 London Olympics, which Japan was not invited to participate in for its role in World War II.
His world marks eclipsed the winning times at the Olympics by a wide margin, but Furuhashi had to wait until the next year to become a national sensation when he set world records at the U.S. national swimming championships in L.A.
Furuhashi made his first Olympic appearance as the captain of the Japanese delegation at the 1952 Helsinki Games but finished a disappointing eighth place in the 400 freestyle, largely because he had contracted dysentery while attending a training tour to South America in 1950.
The U.S. media nicknamed him the "Flying Fish of Fujiyama." He is believed to have rewritten world records 33 times in his career. In 1990, Furuhashi became JOC president and made a name for himself as one of the most influential sports figures during his five terms at the head of the organization until retiring in 1999. [rc]
(C) The Japan Times Ltd
August 4, 2009
JAPAN: Flying Fish of Fujiyama, 80, dies at World Swimming Meet in Rome
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TOKYO, Japan / The Japan Times / Kyodo News / August 4, 2009
Furuhashi, legendary swimmer, dead at 80
Legendary swimmer and former Japanese Olympic Committee President Hironoshin Furuhashi has died in Rome, where the swimming world championships are being held, a senior Japan Swimming Federation official said Sunday. He was 80.
Furuhashi, nicknamed the "Flying fish of Fujiyama," was discovered dead lying in his hotel room bed Sunday morning. The cause of death was not immediately known.
"After getting the mournful news, I really was completely in shock. I am very upset," said current JOC President Tsunekazu Takeda. "He was a JOC adviser who acted as a looking glass for us and he was the pride of the sports world. He was working tirelessly till the end in our bid to bring the (2016) Olympics to Tokyo."
___________________________________________________________________________________
It's already been 43 years since the 1964 Olympic Games were held in Tokyo. I have a long history of involvement in the world of sports, having participated in the Olympic Games both as an athlete and as a Games official, so in light of the fact that more and more young Japanese never experienced the Tokyo Olympic Games that stirred up so much excitement all over Japan, I want to express my support for Tokyo's bid to host 2016 Olympic Games for a second time.
Hironoshin Furuhashi, March 5, 2007
© 2007 TOKYO 2016 Olympic Games Bid Committee
___________________________________________________________________________________
A national hero who held a number of key posts in the sports world and was honorary president of the Japan Swimming Federation, Furuhashi set world records in the men's 400-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle events at the national championships in 1948.
He set the marks at the same time of the 1948 London Olympics, which Japan was not invited to participate in for its role in World War II.
His world marks eclipsed the winning times at the Olympics by a wide margin, but Furuhashi had to wait until the next year to become a national sensation when he set world records at the U.S. national swimming championships in L.A.
Furuhashi made his first Olympic appearance as the captain of the Japanese delegation at the 1952 Helsinki Games but finished a disappointing eighth place in the 400 freestyle, largely because he had contracted dysentery while attending a training tour to South America in 1950.
The U.S. media nicknamed him the "Flying Fish of Fujiyama." He is believed to have rewritten world records 33 times in his career. In 1990, Furuhashi became JOC president and made a name for himself as one of the most influential sports figures during his five terms at the head of the organization until retiring in 1999. [rc]
(C) The Japan Times Ltd
It's already been 43 years since the 1964 Olympic Games were held in Tokyo. I have a long history of involvement in the world of sports, having participated in the Olympic Games both as an athlete and as a Games official, so in light of the fact that more and more young Japanese never experienced the Tokyo Olympic Games that stirred up so much excitement all over Japan, I want to express my support for Tokyo's bid to host 2016 Olympic Games for a second time.
Hironoshin Furuhashi, March 5, 2007
© 2007 TOKYO 2016 Olympic Games Bid Committee
___________________________________________________________________________________
A national hero who held a number of key posts in the sports world and was honorary president of the Japan Swimming Federation, Furuhashi set world records in the men's 400-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle events at the national championships in 1948.
He set the marks at the same time of the 1948 London Olympics, which Japan was not invited to participate in for its role in World War II.
His world marks eclipsed the winning times at the Olympics by a wide margin, but Furuhashi had to wait until the next year to become a national sensation when he set world records at the U.S. national swimming championships in L.A.
Furuhashi made his first Olympic appearance as the captain of the Japanese delegation at the 1952 Helsinki Games but finished a disappointing eighth place in the 400 freestyle, largely because he had contracted dysentery while attending a training tour to South America in 1950.
The U.S. media nicknamed him the "Flying Fish of Fujiyama." He is believed to have rewritten world records 33 times in his career. In 1990, Furuhashi became JOC president and made a name for himself as one of the most influential sports figures during his five terms at the head of the organization until retiring in 1999. [rc]
(C) The Japan Times Ltd
