Kosuke Kitajima

Kosuke Kitajima (Japanese北岛 康 介Kosuke Kitajima; born September 22, 1982 in Tokyo) is a Japanese swimmer.

Career

Kitajima is one of the world's top breaststroke. His international career in the classic style chest began at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney when he was fourth on 100 m breaststroke. The breakthrough came at the 2002 Asian Championships as he was able to improve the twenty -year-old world record in the 200 m breaststroke.

When he then at the 2003 World Swimming Championships in Barcelona won the gold medal each in the 100 and 200m breaststroke, he grew up in his Japanese homeland for a Superstar zoom. Equipped with multi-million dollar advertising contracts he started in 2004 with great expectations of his Japanese fans at the Olympic Games in Athens and was one of the superstars of the game with two Olympic victories in the 100 and 200m breaststroke. In addition, the bronze medal came about 4x100 m medley, where he was a guarantor of winning a medal in his chest discipline. In the swimming world championships in 2005 in Montreal, he won the 100m breast- the silver medal behind the American Brendan Hansen. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing was again Kitajima Olympic champion over 100 m and 200 m breaststroke and won the bronze medal with the Japanese squadron about 4 × 100 m medley. Four years later, Kitajima could no individual medal win (5th place about 100 m breaststroke, 4th place on 200 m breaststroke ) at the Summer Olympic Games in London. With the medley relay but he won silver behind the United States.

Records

Personal best

Long Course

Short Course