My Take
Okay, Kitajima is one of those athletes I get genuinely emotional about. The man basically owned the breaststroke lane for a decade, sweeping the 100m and 200m at both Athens and Beijing, which is the kind of back-to-back double nobody else had pulled off in Olympic history. And honestly, what I love isn't even the medals, it's that he was so real in the water. When he finally won gold and his first words were "it feels so good," it became the phrase of the year, because of course it did, the guy never bottled up a single emotion. That raw roar at the wall after a race? Iconic. A kid from Arakawa who clawed his way to the absolute top, then stuck around to build swim schools and run teams because he clearly just loves the sport. I'll always have a soft spot for him.
Overview
Kosuke Kitajima, born September 22, 1982, in Arakawa, Tokyo, is one of Japan's most decorated competitive swimmers, specializing in the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke. He became the first swimmer in Olympic history to win both breaststroke events at two consecutive Games, claiming double gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics and again at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After retiring from competition in 2016, he transitioned into sports administration and business, serving as vice chairman of the Tokyo Swimming Association and founding KITAJIMA AQUATICS. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2023.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Kosuke Kitajima
- Name (Japanese)
- 北島康介
- Reading
- きたじまこうすけ
- Born
- September 22, 1982 (age 43)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Dog
- Origin
- Arakawa, Tokyo, Japan
- Blood type
- B
- Height
- 178 cm
- Agency
- IMPRINT Co., Ltd. (Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer)
- Agency history
- Tokyo Swimming Center (training base during competitive career)
Coca-Cola Japan Co., Ltd. (2005–2016, Japan's first professional competitive swimmer under sponsorship contract) - Active years
- 1999–2016 (active); 2016–present (promotion activities and business management after retirement)
- Occupation
- Competitive Swimmer / Sports Executive
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Hongo High School (graduated 2001)
- University
- Nippon Sport Science University, Faculty of Sport Science, Department of Sport Science (graduated 2005)
- Debut
- Came to prominence at the 1999 National Junior High School Swimming Championships. Made his Olympic debut at the 2000 Sydney Olympics as an 18-year-old high school senior.
Awards & achievements
- 2003 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 100 m Breaststroke Gold Medal (world record)
- 2003 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 200 m Breaststroke Gold Medal (world record)
- 2003 Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon
- 2004 Athens Olympics – Men's 100 m Breaststroke Gold Medal
- 2004 Athens Olympics – Men's 200 m Breaststroke Gold Medal
- 2004 Buzzword of the Year Grand Prize ("Cho kimochi ii")
- 2004 Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon
- 2008 Beijing Olympics – Men's 100 m Breaststroke Gold Medal (world record, back-to-back title)
- 2008 Beijing Olympics – Men's 200 m Breaststroke Gold Medal (Olympic record, back-to-back title)
- 2008 Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon
- 2023 International Swimming Hall of Fame inductee
Timeline
- 1987Joined Tokyo Swimming Center at age 5 and began swimming
- 1996Began intensive training under coach Norimasa Hirai in his second year of junior high school
- 2000Made Olympic debut at the Sydney Olympics at age 18; finished 4th in the 100 m breaststroke, setting a Japanese record
- 2003Won the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke double at the World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, setting world records in both
- 2004Won the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke double at the Athens Olympics; his post-race exclamation became the Buzzword of the Year
- 2005Graduated from Nippon Sport Science University and signed with Coca-Cola Japan, becoming Japan's first professional competitive swimmer
- 2008Won back-to-back doubles in the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke at the Beijing Olympics — the first swimmer in Olympic history to achieve this feat
- 2012Competed at the London Olympics and won a silver medal in the 4×100 m medley relay
- 2013Married Chisa, former lead vocalist of girl next door
- 2016Failed to qualify for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and announced retirement; assumed role of vice chairman of the Tokyo Swimming Association
- 2018Formally assumed office as vice chairman of the Tokyo Swimming Association
- 2020Became chief executive of the International Swimming League professional team Tokyo Frog Kings
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Chisa (former lead vocalist of girl next door; registered marriage September 22, 2013)
- Children
- First daughter (born May 2014; name and face not disclosed)
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Hobbies
- Swimming (competitive)
- Golf
Specialties
- Breaststroke (100 m and 200 m)
- Sports coaching and management
Motto
Composure (平常心)
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Book | Cho Kimochi Ii! | Author | 2004 |
| Event | Kosuke Kitajima Cup (planning and management of eponymous swimming meet) | Organizer | 2010 |
| Swimming School | KITAJIMA AQUATICS | Founder and Executive | 2017 |
| Sports Team | Tokyo Frog Kings (International Swimming League professional team) | Chief Executive | 2020 |
6. Links
- Official sitehttps://www.imprint.jp/projects/kitajima/
- Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/kosuke5890/
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8C%97%E5%B3%B6%E5%BA%B7%E4%BB%8B
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.