Nobutaka Taguchi

Nobutaka Taguchi is a retired Japanese breaststroke swimmer, born on 18 June 1951. He swam the 100 and 200 metre breaststroke and the 4 x 100 metre medley relay at the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games. At the 1972 Games in Munich he won the 100 metre breaststroke, Japan's first breaststroke gold since 1956, and took bronze in the 200 metre event. He achieved this during a five-year period dominated by John Hencken and David Wilkie, and he added bronze medals in both breaststroke distances at the 1975 World Championships before ending his career after the 1976 Olympics. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1987 and later became a lecturer and then professor of physical education at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya, retiring as professor emeritus in 2017.