*This content was translated by AI.View Original
Tomoru Honda (24), a world-renowned star in Japanese swimming, received a severe 21-month suspension after engaging in a reckless race at over 100 km/h on a road with a speed limit of 30 km/h, colliding with an oncoming vehicle and causing serious injuries to the driver. Although he was a world-class star who became the first Asian to top the butterfly event at the World Championships, this sanction has completely derailed his chances of competing in the LA Olympics.
Japanese media outlet "Sponichi Annex" reported on the 5th that "The Japan Swimming Federation held an ethics committee meeting in Tokyo on the 4th and imposed a 21-month suspension from athlete registration on Honda, who was sentenced to one year in prison with a three-year suspended sentence for dangerous driving causing injury last September. The sanction takes effect from the day the written notice of the disciplinary action is received and confirmed, meaning his eligibility will be suspended until at least August 2028. Consequently, his participation in the LA Olympics has become hopeless."
Honda is a unique ace in Asian and global swimming who has engaged in several intense matches against Korean swimming stars such as Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Woo-min. He won the silver medal in the men's 200m butterfly at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and achieved a double crown at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games by winning both the men's 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley. At the time, in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay final of the Hangzhou Games, he competed as the third leg for the Japanese team, engaging in a fiery head-to-head match against Korea's Hwang Sun-woo, Kim Woo-min, Lee Ho-jun, and Yang Jae-hoon.
In particular, Honda was a world-class star who became the first Asian to claim the men's butterfly title at the World Championships by winning the gold medal in the men's 200m butterfly final at the 2024 Doha World Aquatics Championships with a time of 1 minute 53.88 seconds. Following bronze medals at the 2022 Budapest and 2023 Fukuoka events, he stood atop the world, bringing Japan its first swimming gold medal at the World Championships in five years.
However, an outrageous transgression crushed the career of a world-class athlete. On November 21 last year, Honda was speeding at 108 km/h on a road with a speed limit of 30 km/h in Tama City, Tokyo Prefecture, when he crossed the center line and rushed into the opposite lane. He ultimately collided head-on with an oncoming car, and the male driver in his 60s suffered serious injuries, including a fractured sternum. It was revealed that immediately after the accident, he had been speeding while blinded by competitive drive after seeing a sports car ahead, drawing fierce criticism.
Even more remarkably, despite causing the accident, Honda concealed it and continued with brazen behavior, such as winning the 200m butterfly at the Kitaizumi Gousuke Cup in January this year and shouting "I'm home!" He placed second at the Japanese Championships in March and was selected for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games team, but he did not report the accident to the federation until voluntarily confessing on July 31, just before his indictment.
As the situation spiraled out of control, Honda voluntarily withdrew from the Pan Pacific Championships and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games team in August last month to reflect on his actions. Subsequently, he was sentenced to one year in prison with a three-year suspended sentence at the Tachikawa Branch of the Tokyo District Court on September 9.
After the legal punishment, he could not escape the federation's harsh measures. With the Japan Swimming Federation finalizing a severe 21-month suspension, Honda will be unable to participate in any official competitions until August 2028. The Asian powerhouse who had called for challenging the Olympic summit with his World Championship gold medal can no longer even compete in the LA Olympic trials, completely blocking his path to Olympic participation.
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*This content was translated by AI.View Original
