Japanese Olympic gold medalist Kosuke Hagino delivered a dominating performance at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, claiming the gold in the men’s 400-meter Individual Medley and silver in the 200-meter Individual Medley.
With the excitement of the Rio Games over, the 22-year-old Tokyo University swimmer has turned his attention to the 2020 Tokyo Games with a focus on being in the best form possible.
As part of that preparation the Olympian has recently undergone elbow surgery to have the extra bone on his right elbow removed after fracturing it last June at a training camp. The injury occurred when Hagino fell off a bicycle during the national team’s training trip to France.
Norimasa Hirai, Hagino’s coach, explained to The Japan Times that “we’ll be prudent while we monitor his progress.” Hirai continued to explain that while the cast on his arm will be removed in the next week Hagino will not be returning to competition for the rest of 2016 as he focuses on rehabilitating the joint forcing him out of two upcoming events in Tokyo: a World Cup meet and the Asian Championships.
Hagino announced the surgery and its success via his twitter account throughout the course of this week. Translation of his first tweet announces the surgery and that it is in anticipation of the next four years, while the latter tweet announces his discharge from the hospital and the success of the surgery. Hagino went on to thank everyone involved.
He went 1:56.2in the 200 IM @. the National Spirts Festival the second weekend if thus month and the weekend before that went 1;56-plus in the IM plus 4:11in thev400. 1;56-mud in the 200 back, 3:50-plus in the free and 53-plus leading off hus schook’s 400 medley relay.
All w/one arm!
Imagine what he’d do healthy.-
Well we may just find out in six weeks as the Asian Championships are set for mid-November in Tokyo.