is a retired

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Olympic, Asian and National Record holding swimmer. He swam for

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

at the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, and

2016 Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, winning four medals. At the 2008 Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the men's 200 m butterfly in an Asian Record of 1:52.97; in doing so, he also set the Japanese Record in the event. On November 12, 2011, Matsuda set a new Japanese record (1:49.50) at the FINA World Cup for the short course 200 m butterfly. In doing so, he became just the third swimmer in history to break the 1:50 barrier for the event.

Career

Early years

Matsuda was born in the rural town of

Nobeoka, Miyazaki file:Nobeoka city center area Aerial photograph.2018.jpg, 270px, Central Nobeoka City is a Cities of Japan, city located in the north of Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 113,367 in 51272 households, and a po ...

, where he began swimming at the age of 4 at a local pool. Since then, he has trained with the same coach, Yumiko Kuze, a rare female coach in the world of men's swimming. She was a swimmer in her youth and began as a volunteer coach at the local pool (personal interview).

2004 Olympics

At the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, Matsuda placed 8th in the 400 m freestyle final.

2008 Olympics

In the final of the men's 200m butterfly at the 2008 Olympics, he finished 3rd to claim bronze. He came behind

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...

and

László Cseh László Cseh (; born 3 December 1985) is a retired Hungarian competitive swimmer and six-time Olympic medalist. He is a 33-time European Champion. His father, László Cseh Sr., also represented Hungary at the Olympics in swimming. In 2020, ...

, with a time of 1:52.97, an Asian record.

2012 Olympics

At the

, Matsuda won two medals. He defended his bronze medal in the 200 meter butterfly and swam the butterfly leg for Japan's silver medal-winning relay team in the 4 × 100 meter medley relay with

Ryosuke Irie is a retired Japanese competitive swimmer who competes in backstroke events. He is a Kindai University student in Osaka. He won a silver medal in the 200 metre backstroke and a bronze in the 100 metre backstroke at the 2012 Summer Olympics, a ...

Kosuke Kitajima is a Japanese retired breaststroke swimmer. He won gold medals at the men's 100 m and 200 m breaststroke events at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and the 2008 Summer Olympics – becoming the first and only swimmer to sweep the breaststroke events at ...

, and

Takuro Fujii is a Japanese competitive swimmer and two-time Olympic medalist. He won the bronze medal by swimming the butterfly leg in the 4 × 100 m medley relay at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He followed this with a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics ...

. He also swam the 100 meter butterfly, where he tied for sixteenth in the heats and subsequently lost a swim-off with Benjamin Starke of Germany, shutting him out of the semifinals.

2016 Olympics

At his final Olympics, Matsuda won a bronze medal in the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay.

Personal bests

In long course * 400m freestyle: 3:44.99 Former Japanese Record (August 9, 2008) * 800m freestyle: 7:49.65 Japanese Record (April 19, 2009) * 200m butterfly: 1:52.97 Asian Record (August 13, 2008) In short course * 200m butterfly: 1:49.50 Former Japanese Record (November 12, 2011)

References

External links

* * * Takeshi Kojima
Greenhouse to Water Cube / Matsuda's unorthodox training bears fruit in Beijing
/ Yomiuri Shimbun, 14 August 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Matsuda, Takeshi 1984 births Living people Olympic swimmers for Japan Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Japan Olympic bronze medalists for Japan Sportspeople from Miyazaki Prefecture Olympic bronze medalists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Asian Games medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2002 Asian Games Swimmers at the 2006 Asian Games Swimmers at the 2010 Asian Games Swimmers at the 2014 Asian Games Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan Japanese male butterfly swimmers Japanese male freestyle swimmers Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Summer World University Games medalists in swimming FISU World University Games gold medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2003 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade 21st-century Japanese sportsmen