BY Hideki Mochizuki
TOKYO, Japan, November 1. TETSUO Hamuro, the men's 200m breaststroke gold medalist from the 1936 Berlin Olympics, passed away on October 30 at the age of 88.
Hamuro emerged on the world scene in 1935 when he tied the world record in the 200 breaststroke at the Japanese Collegiate Championships. The following year, his gold medal at Berlin came with Hideko Maehata's gold in the same event for women.
Hamuro's career goal was to duplicate the feat of Yoshiyuki Tsuruta, who won consecutive Olympic gold medals in the men's 200m breaststroke at the 1928 Amsterdam and 1932 Los Angeles Games. Unfortunately, he never got the opportunity, as the 1940 and 1944 Games were not held due to World War II, and Japan was not allowed to compete at the 1948 Games.
Hamuro became a sports journalist with the Mainichi newspaper after his retirement from competitive swimming.