With the conclusion of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, we’ve seen a few retirement announcements, such as Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh.
But on the other end, we’ve also seen some elite swim veterans allude to hanging on for 3 more years until Paris 2024, a la Australia’s Cate Campbell.
Landing in the ‘not ready to call it quits yet’ camp is 31-year-old Japanese swimmer Ryosuke Irie. The Olympic icon told Asian media this week that he’s at least going to continue his career through the 2022 FINA World Championships, set to take place in May of next year in Fukuoka, Japan.
On his mentality following this year’s Games, Irie said, “I thought about retiring after the Tokyo Olympics. But there was still something missing in my heart.”
At the just-concluded 2020 Olympic Games, Irie finished 9th in the 100m backstroke and 7th in the 200 backstroke, with Tokyo representing the man’s 4th Olympic appearance.
Irie took home 3 medals at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, including the 200m back silver, 100m back bronze and medley relay silver. He more recently took 100m and 200 back silver at the 2018 Asian Games.
This week Irie also hinted at cutting his schedule down to just the 100m backstroke ongoing, focusing on both the individual event as well as trying to produce the best possible performance as the lead-off on Japan’s medley relay.
Irie owns the Japanese national record in the 100m back in a time of 52.24 from 2009, as well as the 200m back in a mark of 1:52.51 also from that year.
Great news! Sooooooooo pleased to hear it!
So happy that I can still cheer him. Hope he will challenge to Paris 2024!
Great news, but I think we can dispense with the “seemingly ageless” for a 31 yo guy, when you have 37 yo Brent Hayden doing a 47.9 in the 100 free after years off from training, and 36 yo Tony Ervin winning Olympic gold on the men side (won’t even go into Dara Torres). It just substantiates the myth that the 30’s are too old to be an elite competitor.
I think you have to consider the stroke too. Freestyle sprints are a lot easier to stay competitive in than the other disciplines
50m events are a LOT different than 100m events, though. I feel like it’s easier to cling to swimming 50s as you get older since its almost purely anaerobic, per the case with Ervin and Santos–both had decent 100m free races when younger, but couldn’t quite capture it later on.
This might be controversial, but I think Ervin’s 21.40 50 free at 35 isn’t THAT much more impressive than Hayden’s 47.99 at 37. For sure, the two best “age defying” swims I’ve ever seen. Here’s another one no one talks about: Felipe Lima’s 59.17 at age 36 in Tokyo! Just one quad ago, that time would’ve been in the medal conversation, and had he gone that time in the… Read more »
Always rooting for him. Absolutely peerless technique.
Met him at training camp at NAU. He is a very nice man. Talked with and took pictures with my swimmers.
Wonderful news about a very much respected swimmer.
FROG🐸 KING👑