In a time when names such as Ippei Watanabe and Yasuhiro Koseki are emerging as dominant Japanese breaststroke forces internationally, another national-level swimmer specialising in the same discipline is hanging up his goggles. 27-year-old Ryo Tateishi of Kanagawa Prefecture has announced his retirement, following his final competition last month at the 2017 Japan Swim.
Tateishi established himself as a viable breaststroke threat by way of his 4th place finish at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai. Against a field that included the late Norwegian, Alexander Dale Oen, South African Cameron van der Burgh and Italy’s Fabio Scozzoli, Tateishi finished 9th in the men’s 100m breaststroke in a time of 1:00.37.
The Japanese athlete’s big individual swims came just a year later, however, at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Tateishi finaled in the same event, finishing 7th, while he soared to the podium in the 200m breaststroke distance. In that 200m, Tateishi touched in 2:08.29 to earn the bronze medal, beating his legendary teammate Kosuke Kitajima by just .06 seconds.
Tateishi wasn’t able to replicate his London success thereafter, however, as the breaststroker finished 6th in the 200m event at the 2013 FINA World Championships, while dropping down to 25th result at the 2015 version of the meet in Kazan. Although his 100m breaststroke time of 1:00.67 at the 2016 Japanese Olympic Trials wasn’t too terribly off his Shanghai result, Tateishi wound up with a 3rd place finish in the B-Final and off of the Japanese roster for Rio.
Entering the 2017 Japan Swim, Tateishi announced his retirement during heats, wanting to sign-off on his solid career with a few additional swims. He ultimately finished 6th in the B-Final of the men’s 100m breaststroke (1:01.97) and placed 4oth overall in the 200m with a time of 2:16.69.