Shunpei UTO

Shunpei Uto did not take up swimming until he was a teenager, but he quickly demonstrated his proficiency by ascending the Japanese national rankings. At the age of 17 he attended the 1936 Berlin Olympics and won two medals: silver in the 400 metres freestyle and bronze in the 1500 metres freestyle. He continued swimming as a student at Rikkyo University, but World War II hit his fortunes hard and, after the conflict, he was forced to pawn his Olympic medals for food. He worked at the Niigata Nippo newspaper company for many years, and then retired to work as a farmer in his home prefecture, a pursuit he continued as he reached the age of 100 in December 2018.