Former swimming coach Shintaro Yokochi has passed away

Swimming coach Shintaro Yokochi died today at the age of 87, the Portuguese Swimming Federation (FPN) announced, remembering him as “one of the most important figures in Portuguese sport”, after coaching his son Alexandre.

Shintaro’s “maximum exponent,” FPN points out, was Alexandre Yokochi’s participation in the 200-meter breaststroke final in Los Angeles 1984, to date Portugal’s only swimming final at the Olympics.

“To the grieving family, the FPN Board of Directors extends its deepest condolences,” a statement that did not disclose the cause of death can read.

Yokochi, born October 31, 1935 in Yokohama, survived the explosion of the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and in 1958 moved to Portugal, eventually settling in the country.

He rejected the possibility of participating in the Olympic Games in Rome 1960, as a swimmer, to become a coach, at the age of 22, for the swimming team Sport Alges and Dafondo.

The club’s contact with the Japanese embassy meant that, on the other side of the world, Yokochi became aware of the possibility, which was initially realized for only three months, which was protracted.

With a degree in political economy, he dedicated himself to the country and in Portugal he spent decade after decade of his life, while training, in the national team and in the clubs he played for, some of the best Portuguese swimmers ever, with his son at the helm, but also other names like Bessone Basto .

Married and raised a family in Portugal, Alexandre followed in his footsteps as a swimmer, having achieved a silver medal at the Europeans for Portugal, among many other accomplishments, with a 7th-place finish at Los Angeles 1984.

In his career, he spent time at FC Porto until he moved to Benfica in 1972, and began coaching his son, who was knocked out of the elite competition in 1992 and is now a university professor in the United States.

He led the swimming delegation at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, in a process shrouded in controversy, as he recalled in an interview with Expresso, having coached the team a few days before the competition, with results below expectations.

He stated, “I was so disgusted that I decided to stay in Portugal to show that I could coach a great team for the Olympic Games.”

His wife, Irma Delgado, and their three children ended up keeping him in Portugal, after he dedicated himself to swimming, saying he had dedicated his “whole life” to it.

He taught swimming at the Academia Militar, coached the FC Porto team, worked directly with elite swimmers, and at Benfica created the most famous Portuguese, to experience, in that final in Los Angeles, “one of the happiest moments” of life, he recalled.

In addition to swimming, he had export businesses and a restaurant in Lisbon, and even participated in veterans’ tournaments, as his life was marked by war and the memory of the atomic bomb.

“I still dream about war and the bomb,” he told Expresso. “I had tragic moments that I will never forget.”