Shigeo ARAI

After ruling at the 1932 Olympics, the Japanese swimmers were slightly less dominant at the 1936 Olympics, but three Japanese swimmers still contested the 100 m freestyle final. While Masanori Yusa, Masaharu Taguchi and Shigeo Arai all beat pre-race favorite Peter Fick, the gold went to Ferenc Csík of Hungary. While Arai was awarded the bronze, it is possible he was fortunate to earn a medal at all; photographic evidence does not fully match the official times. Because of their excellent results, the three Japanese swimmers, with the addition of Shigeo Sugiura, were the clear favorites for the 4 x 200 m relay event. They comprehensively beat the competition, and lowered the world record in the process. Due to the political situation and lack of international events, Arai did not swim outside of Japan anymore, but he continued to be a force there. Between 1937 and 1940, he won three Japanese 100 m freestyle titles, and four in the 200 m. Following the 1941 season, Arai was forced to enlist in the army. He was killed in action in Burma, in 1944.