A HISTORY OF CRAWL STROKE TECHNIQUES TO THE 1960s: AN AUSTRALIAN
PERSPECTIVE: SECTION IV At the Olympic Games in 1932, Japanese
men dominated the swimming events, winning five out of a
possible six gold medals and gaining 11 out of a possible 18
places. The USA took four places. Japan first entered swimmers
at the Olympics in 1920, but none advanced beyond the semi-
finals. At Paris in 1924 several Japanese qualified for finals,
including Takaishi (fifth in 100 m and 1,500 m) and Saiti (sixth
in back-stroke). In Amsterdam four years later Takaishi moved up
to third place in the 100 m, Tsuruta won the gold medal for the
200 m breast-stroke, and the Japanese 4 x 200 m team finished
second. Following this, a surge of confidence and optimism swept
through Japanese swimming circles. The world's best swimmers,
including Weissmuller and Borg, accepted invitations to compete
in Japan practically every year in the 1920s and 1930s, and
Japanese swimmers competed in international meets all over the
world, just as once ag