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.

For the baseball player, see Daichi Suzuki (baseball).
Daichi Suzuki
Daichi Suzuki in 2007
Personal information
Full name鈴木 大地
NationalityJapanese
Born (1967-03-10) March 10, 1967
Narashino, Chiba
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight68 kg (150 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBackstroke
College teamJuntendo University

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

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.


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