Daichi Suzuki

Daichi Suzuki (鈴木 大地, Suzuki Daichi) (born March 10, 1967 in Narashino, Chiba) is a retired Japanese backstroke swimmer. He won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

Daichi Suzuki

Daichi Suzuki in 2007
Personal information
Full name	鈴木 大地
Nationality	Japanese
Born	March 10, 1967 Narashino, Chiba
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	68 kg (150 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Backstroke
College team	Juntendo University
Medal record Olympic Games 1988 Seoul 100 m backstroke Pan Pacific Championships 1987 Brisbane 100 m backstroke Summer Universiade 1987 Zagreb 100 m backstroke 1987 Zagreb 200 m backstroke Asian Games 1986 Seoul 100 m backstroke 1986 Seoul 4×100 m medley

Swimming

Suzuki developed the swimming technique called underwater dolphin kick or what is known as the Berkoff Blastoff in the United States.[1] This style in backstroke swimming was invented by either David Berkoff or Jesse Vasallo.[1] However, it was Suzuki who finally developed the skill, allowing him to swim 25 meters underwater at the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. Four years later, he won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke at the 1988 Seoul Olympics where Berkoff also competed.[2]   

Career

In 2015, Daichi was the head of the Japan Swimming Federation. On September 5, 2015, it was confirmed that he would take up a new position as head of Japan's new national sports agency, which was launched on October 1, 2015.[3] The new organization, which is called Japan Sports Agency,[4] is an Incorporated Administrative Agency or similar of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Its primary role is the coordination of a wide range of sports related functions and projects carried out by various government ministries.[5] Specifically, the 121-person agency is tasked to improve Japan's athletic performance in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[4]

Educational background

• Juntendo University

References

1. Keller-Marvin, Meg (2019-12-11). "Japanese Swimmer Daichi Suzuki To Be Inducted Into International Swimming Hall of Fame Class of 2020". Swimming World News. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
2. Serowik, Lauren (2019-12-04). "Swimming World Presents "Takeoff to Tokyo: When Backstroke Went Rogue - The Story of Daichi Suzuki and the 1988 Seoul Olympics""". Swimming World News. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
3. "Suzuki to be 1st head of sports agency". The Yomiuri Shimbun. Japan. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
4. Robertson, James (October 4, 2015). "Japan Creates Sports Agency To Improve Their Athlete's Performance For The 2020 Tokyo Olympics". www.sporttechie.com. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
5. "Diet OKs creation of national sports agency ahead of 2020 Olympics". The Japan Times. Japan. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.

• databaseOlympics
• Hawaii Swim Forum – Race Strategy
• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Daichi Suzuki". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2013-02-05.