Kosuke Kitajima, the most decorated breaststroker of all time, retired after failing to automatically qualify for a fifth Japanese Olympic team on Friday, according to several Japanese media reports.
Kitajima, who swept the breaststrokes at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, finished fifth in the 200m breaststroke at the Japanese Olympic Trials in his last shot at automatic selection.
“This has become my last serious race,” Kitajima said, according to Swimming World. “I will never feel this excitement again.”
Kitajima, 33, was second in the 100m breaststroke on Tuesday but didn’t meet Japan’s Olympic qualifying standard time in the final.