Hideko Maehata

Champion breaststroke swimmer Hideko Maehata was born on May 20, 1914 in Hashimoto, Wakayama, Japan. The daughter of a tofu producer, Hideko learned to swim as a child in the Kinokawa River. Maehata set an unofficial youth record for the 50-meter breaststroke while in the fifth grade of elementary school.

Hideko went on to win numerous competitions and was slated to attend a woman's boarding school in Nagoya that specialized in swimming, but was forced to return home in 1931 after both of her parents died from strokes within a six month period.

Maehata nonetheless was selected as part of the Japanese swimming team for the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, California and subsequently won a silver medal in the women's 200-meters breaststroke.

After returning to Japan, Hideko underwent a strenuous training program and set a new world record of 3:00:4 in the 200-meters breaststroke on September 30, 1933.

Maehata followed this triumphant feat by winning the gold medal in the women's 200-meters breaststroke at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany.

Hideko married professor of medicine Masahiko Hyodo in 1937 and eventually retired from competitive swimming.

Maehata was awarded the Purple Ribbon of Merit by the Japanese government in 1964 and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1979.

Hideko suffered from a stroke in 1983, but managed to recover from said stroke.

Maehata was designated as a Person of Cultural Merit in 1990 and holds the distinction of being the first Japanese female athlete to receive this particular honor.