Naoki Mizunuma cemented his place in Japanese history at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest.
No Japanese man had ever reached the 100m butterfly podium in the 18 editions of the global championships since they were first held in Belgrade in 1973.
However, Naoki consigned that statistic to history in the Hungarian capital as he came from eighth at halfway to move past the entire field bar winner Kristof Milak and claim silver.
That followed his national record of 50.81 in the semifinals where he’d become the first Japanese man to break through the 51-second barrier.
After claiming the first senior international medal of his career, Naoki said: “I was a little bit nervous before the race but I’m very happy to win a medal here.”
“I’m really happy to be a part of history,” he said. “I managed to get a sub-51-second time.”
He also bore witness to another slice of history as Milak became only the third man to complete the 100/200 fly double at a single World Championships, joining Michael Phelps and Chad le Clos in an exclusive club.
The following year saw Naoki finish fourth in the 100 fly at the Asian Games while also picking up a bronze medal after swimming the prelims of the men’s 4x100m medley relay as Japan went on to finish third in the final.
In March 2024, he was named captain of the Japanese Olympic swimming team at Paris 2024 at what would be his second Games following his debut in Tokyo.
“This is my first time being the captain of the national team,” he told Daily Japan. “There are a lot of young swimmers, so I want to be able to effectively communicate with them. I hope we can create a team where everyone feels comfortable.”
