From Hating Swimming To Becoming A 4x Olympian: As Japanese Legend Ryosuke Irie Says Goodbye, A Look-Back At His Iconic Career

Ryosuke Irie, the Japanese swimming legend, has decided to bid adieu to the waters. While this might come as a surprise for his fans, there is really not much left for the 34-year-old to achieve. Known as the backstroke king, the Japanese boasts of an incredible record of appearing in four Olympic games. Unfortunately, his aim of making a fifth Olympics did not materialize.

Nevertheless, Irie has reigned supreme in the hearts of his fans, ending his career with 2 Olympic silver and 1 bronze. Interestingly, the tale of Irie rising to the pinnacle of success is not a conventional one. In fact, he hated to swim in his early days. While the legend will now enjoy his well-earned rest, here’s a look back at Ryosuke Irie’s ornamented career. 

Ryosuke Irie’s climb to fame

Ryosuke Irie was a kid when he tried his luck in swimming, being inspired by Shinpei, his brother. However, his experience with the water was not at all pleasant. Irie hated swimming and also asked his mother to quit the game while tears rolled down from his eyes. Luckily, his mother did not make the mistake of making him quit and instead, asked Irie him to stop only if he felt the same about swimming after 365 days. 

That was the beginning of the legend’s journey and his first major spotlight moment came in 2006. Competing in the Asian Games in Doha, he bagged his first gold medal in the 200m backstroke and did not look back since. He won 5 more golds in the Asian Games while clinching two silver and bronze each at the World Championships in Rome, Shanghai, and Barcelona respectively. His dominance can be attributed to the fact that Irie boasts of 32 sub-1:55s in the 200m and 35 sub-53s in the 100m categories. 

Sadly, his dream of appearing in his fifth Olympics did not come to fruition. Competing at the Japanese Olympic trials, Irie ended with an impressive 1:58:37 to clinch the bronze. Unfortunately, it was not enough to qualify, as the cutoff timing set by the Japanese Swimming Federation was 1:56:92. Speaking of heartbreaks, Ryosuke Irie faced a huge controversy when his world record got rejected. 

Ryosuke Irie’s World Record controversy – through the microscope

Ryosuke Irie participated in the Japan-Australia swimming contest that took place in Canberra. Displaying impeccable skills, Irie broke Ryan Lochte’s 200m backstroke world record. While Irie and his team were elated, their jubilance did not last long. Soon after the record was made, FINA rejected the accomplishment, accusing Irie of wearing a non-approved technical suit. 

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FINA stated that the suit worn by Irie gave him an undue advantage. However, Japan approved the record as, interestingly, the suit in question was made by a Japanese company, Descente. And now, having retired from professional swimming, Irie will definitely look to sit back and cherish the prized moments in his life as his name gets etched in the history books. 

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