| Rank | Event | Year | Location | Result |
| Olympic Games | ||||
| 5 | 200m Backstroke | 2008 | Beijing, CHN | 1:55.72 |
| World Championships | ||||
| 2 | 200m Backstroke | 2011 | Shanghai, CHN | 1:54.11 |
| 2 | 200m Backstroke | 2009 | Rome, ITA | 1:52.51 |
| 3 | 100m Backstroke | 2011 | Shanghai, CHN | 52.98 |
| 4 | 4 x 100m Medley Relay | 2011 | Shanghai, CHN | 3:32.89 |
| 4 | 100m Backstroke | 2009 | Rome, ITA | 52.73 |
| 7 | 4 x 100m Medley Relay | 2009 | Rome, ITA | 3:30.91 |
| Semifinal | 50m Backstroke | 2009 | Rome, ITA | 24.79 |
| Heats | 50m Backstroke | 2011 | Shanghai, CHN | DNS |
| Asian Games | ||||
| 1 | 100m Backstroke | 2010 | Guangzhou, CHN | 53.61 |
| 1 | 200m Backstroke | 2010 | Guangzhou, CHN | 1:55.45 |
| 1 | 4 x 100m Medley Relay | 2010 | Guangzhou, CHN | 3:34.10 |
| 2 | 50m Backstroke | 2010 | Guangzhou, CHN | 25.16 |
| Pan Pacific Championships | ||||
| 3 | 200m Backstroke | 2010 | Irvine, CA, USA | 1:55.21 |
| 4 | 100m Backstroke | 2010 | Irvine, CA, USA | 53.71 |
| 6 | 50m Backstroke | 2010 | Irvine, CA, USA | 25.41 |
| World Championships Short Course | ||||
| 5 | 100m Backstroke | 2010 | Dubai, UAE | 50.55 |
| 5 | 200m Backstroke | 2010 | Dubai, UAE | 1:50.18 |
| 6 | 4 x 100m Medley Relay | 2010 | Dubai, UAE | 3:25.67 |
Nickname
Ryochan or Iriemon. (TV Asahi, 05 Dec 2007)
Hobbies
Reading books, emailing friends, listening to music, playing piano. (FINA Aquatics World Magazine, 03 Jul 2010)
Education
Law - Kinki University, Osaka, JPN
Language(s) spoken
Japanese
Club name
Itoman Swimming School, Osaka, JPN
Coach
Taketoshi Michiura (JPN) (supersport.com, 27 May 2012)
Position and style
Backstroke (2009eastasiangames.hk, 8 Jan 2010)
Debut
2006 (FINA Aquatics World Magazine, 15 Aug 2010)
Additional information
Start of sporting career
He started swimming as a baby in Osaka. (kindai.ac.jp, 8 Jan 2010)
Reason for taking up this sport
Initially he did not like swimming, but was encourage to continue by his mother. She promised to ask the coach to let him quit after a year, if he still did not like it. (TV Asahi, 05 Dec 2007)
Ambitions
To avenge his loss in the 200m backstroke to Ryan Lochte at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai. “"If I'm slower than Lochte in the first half of the race, I'll be beaten. So I must take the lead at the 100m mark. I want to race at my pace, not his." (AFP, 26 May 2012)
Hero
Japanese swimmer Takashi Yamamoto. (TV-Asahi, 05 Dec 2007)
Most influential person in career
His mother. (Asahi Shimbun, 11 Jul 2012)
General
EARLY DAYS
When he was in second grade, he did not like swimming and was the slowest swimmer at the elite Itoman Tamade swimming school in Osaka. He reluctantly continued swimming because his mother promised she would ask the coach if he could quit a year after he joined the school. His mother, however, forgot to do this and he continued swimming. He initially trained in freestyle but began swimming the backstroke before and after swim practice. He limited his training to backstroke in junior high school and began winning national level competitions. (Asahi Shimbun, 11 Jul 2012; Asahi Shimbun, 11 Jul 2012)
TECHNICAL PERFECTION
To improve his backstroke technique he swam with an empty water bottle balanced on his head. (FINA Aquatics World Magazine, 15 Aug 2010)
Previous Olympics
Beijing 2008
