It turned out that the coach of the Japanese national team for swimming at the Tokyo Olympics, Norimasa Hirai, intends to retire from the head coach of the Japanese national team, who has served for 13 years, at the end of this tournament.
According to the people concerned, Director Hirai decided to retire as the head coach of the Japanese national team at the end of the Tokyo Olympics and told the Japan Swimming Federation on the 2nd.
Director Hirai, who has trained many Olympic medalists including Kosuke Kitajima, became the head coach of the Japanese national team after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and has led the strengthening of athletes for the past 13 years.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Yui Ohashi, who has been coached by Director Hirai since he was a student, won three medals, including a gold medal in the second individual medley, but it has decreased by four from the previous Rio de Janeiro Games.
Director Hirai, who responded to the interview on the day when the swimming competition schedule was over, said, "I think we should greatly reflect on the fact that we could not demonstrate our strength as a whole. What role will we play in Japanese swimming in the future? I want to think about what I should do, including what I want to do. "