Tsuyoshi Yamanaka

Tsuyoshi Yamanaka

Yamanaka (center) at the 1960 Olympics
Personal information
Born	January 18, 1939 (1939-01-18) (age 77) Wajima, Ishikawa, Japan
Height	171 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	75 kg (165 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Medal record Representing  Japan Olympic Games 1956 Melbourne 400 m freestyle 1956 Melbourne 1500 m freestyle 1960 Rome 400 m freestyle 1960 Rome 4×200 m freestyle relay Asian Games 1958 Tokyo 400 m freestyle 1958 Tokyo 1500 m freestyle

Tsuyoshi Yamanaka (山中 毅, Yamanaka Tsuyoshi, born January 18, 1939) is a retired Japanese freestyle swimmer. He competed in the 400 m, 1500 m and 4×200 m events at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won four silver medals; he also helped Japan win a bronze relay medal in 1964 by swimming in the heat, and placed fourth in the 4×200 m relay in 1956 and in the 1500 m in 1960. At the 1960 Olympics he swam the fastest leg in the 4×200 m relay, yet hist team lost to the United State. Yamanaka won the 400 m and 1500 m events at the 1958 Asian Games.^[1]

Yamanaka studied in college at the University of Southern California, where he broke the 200 m world record three times within two months in 1961. He set two more records over 200 m earlier in 1958–59, but unfortunately for him this distance was not an Olympic event in those years. Yamanaka also set a world record over 400 m in 1959 and three world records in the 4×200 m relay in 1959 and 1963. Yamanaka graduated from Waseda University and later headed the Itoman Swimming School in Osaka. In 1983 he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.^[2] In 1995, he unsuccessfully ran for the House of Councillors.^[1]

Yamanaka's coach used pebbles to communicate with him during the training sessions – whenever Yamanaka would relax the coach would throw a pebble in his back. After the training Yamanaka had to collect the pebbles from the pool bottom.^[2]

References

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