Shiro Hashizume

{{Infobox swimmer

| image = Shiro Hashizume, Ford Konno, Tetsuo Okamoto 1952b.jpg

| caption = Hashizume (left) at the 1952 Olympics

| birth_date = {{birth date|1928|9|20}}

| birth_place = Wakayama, Japan{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ha/shiro-hashizume-1.html |title=Shiro Hashizume |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203073522/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ha/shiro-hashizume-1.html |archive-date=2016-12-03 |url-status=dead}}

| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|3|9|1928|9|20}}

| death_place = Ōta, Tokyo, Japan

| height = 183 cm{{cite web |url=http://www.nikkansports.com/sydney/rensai/hashizume.html |title=52年ヘルシンキ競泳1500Ｍ自由形銀橋爪四郎さん |trans-title=1952 Helsinki Swimming 1500M Freestyle Silver Shiro Hashizume |website=nikkansports.com |language=ja |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206124139/http://www.nikkansports.com/sydney/rensai/hashizume.html |archive-date=2010-02-06}}

| weight = 73 kg

| strokes = Freestyle

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry | {{JPN}} }}

}}

{{nihongo|Shiro Hashizume|橋爪四郎|Hashizume Shirō|extra=September 20, 1928 – March 9, 2023}} was a Japanese Olympic freestyle swimmer. He won the silver medal in the men's 1500m freestyle at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. He broke the world record in the same event on August 16, 1949, clocking 18:35.7. That time was bettered the same day, however, by compatriot Hironoshin Furuhashi at the American Swimming Championships in Los Angeles, California.{{cite web |url=https://ishof.org/shiro-hashizume--(jpn).html |title=Shiro Hashizume |website=ISHOF.org |publisher=International Swimming Hall of Fame |access-date=2020-07-12 |archive-date=2020-09-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922202045/https://ishof.org/shiro-hashizume--(jpn).html |url-status=dead }}

Biography

Born in Wakayama, Japan, Hashizume took up swimming at school. He continued swimming at Nihon University, which he entered in 1946 and graduated in 1951 with a law degree. Between 1952 and 1955 he worked for an insurance company, and then ran a swimming club in Yokohama. In 1987 he was awarded the Order of the Purple Ribbon "Shiju Hosho", and in 1992 inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Hashizume was married and has one daughter and one son. He was a member of the Board of Education in Yokohama City. Hashizume died from prostate cancer on March 9, 2023, at the age of 94.[https://www.47news.jp/news/9057209.html 【速報】競泳五輪銀メダルの橋爪四郎さん死去] {{in lang|ja}}