Two-Time Japanese Olympian Reona Aoki Retires
Reona Aoki, a two-time Olympian for Japan, announced her retirement on Thursday.
The 30-year-old swam at each of the last two Olympics. Aoki finished 19th in the women’s 100 breast at the Paris Olympics in 2024. She was also 19th at the Olympics in 2021 in her native Tokyo.
Aoki thanked her family, longtime sponsor Mizuno and coach Norimasa Hirai, who has coached her since she was 12 years old.
Aoki has been on the international scene since the 2016 Asian Championships, in which she won the 200 breast and finished second in the 100 breast in Tokyo that fall. She made Worlds for the first time in 2017 and has long been a part of the storied Japanese breaststroking lineage.
Aoki won bronze in the 100 breast at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships. She is a career five-time Asian Games medalist, with silver in the 100 breast in 2018 and gold in that event in 2022, to go with medley relay gold. She won silver in the 200 breast at the 2015 World University Games and silver in the 100 breast to go with medley relay gold in 2017.
