is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 Olympic

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 and Asian and National Record holding swimmer. He swam for Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 at the 2004

Japan at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Japan competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The delegation of athletes and officials was represented by the Japanese Olympic Committee.-Medalists:-Archery:Men's individual:* Hiroshi Yamamoto - silver medal...

 and 2008 Olympics

Japan at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Japan competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The delegation of athletes and officials were represented by the Japanese Olympic Committee.The list of qualified entries for Japan is shown...

. At the latter event, he won a bronze medal in the men's 200m long course butterfly in an Asian Record of 1:52.97; in doing so, he also set the Japanese Record in the event. On November 12, 2011, Matsuda set a new Japanese record (1:49.50) at the FINA World Cup for the short course 200m butterfly. In doing so, he became just the third swimmer in history to break the 1:50 barrier for the event. Kaio Almeida (1:49.11) and Nikolay Skvortsov

Nikolay Skvortsov

Nikolay Skvortsov may refer to:* Nikolay Skvortsov , Russian swimmer* Nikolay Skvortsov , First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Kazakh SSR...

 (1:49.46) hold the other two spots.

2004 Olympics

At the 2004 Olympic Games

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

, Matsuda placed 8th in the 400m Freestyle final.

2008 Olympics

In the final of the mens 200m butterfly at the 2008 Olympics, he finished 3rd to claim bronze. He came behind Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps

Michael Fred Phelps is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these Olympic Games editions...

 and László Cseh

László Cseh

László Cseh , is a four-time Olympic medalist Hungarian swimmer.-Personal:Cseh has competed in swimming from an early age, and has won numerous Hungarian swimming events. Cseh is coached by György Turi and Zoltán Nemes...

, with a time of 1:52.97, an Asian record.

Personal bests

In long course

• 400m freestyle: 3:44.99 Japanese Record (August 9, 2008)
• 800m freestyle: 7:50.93 Japanese Record (April 8, 2007)
• 200m butterfly: 1:52.97 Asian Record (August 13, 2008)

In short course

• 200m butterfly: 1:49.50 Japanese Record (November 12, 2011)

External links

Takeshi Kojima, Greenhouse to Water Cube / Matsuda's unorthodox training bears fruit in Beijing, / Yomiuri Shimbun, 14 August 2008


FINA World Cup, Tokyo: Takeshi Matsuda Rattles 200 Fly World Record During Day One Finals -- November 11, 2011