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Who is Natsumi Hoshi?
Natsumi Hoshi is a Japanese competitive swimmer who specializes in the 200-meter butterfly. Natsumi Hoshi won the world title in 2015 and bronze medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
With perseverance and effort, this renowned swimmer demonstrated to everyone that no disease could prevent her from becoming one of the top swimmers.
Hoshi’s story includes two bronze Olympic medals, a gold medal at the World Championships in 2015, and being named Best Athlete of the Year in 2011.
This article will discuss how Hoshi, who nearly lost her career due to her condition, fought back to become one of the best swimmers in the world.
Natsumi Hoshi’s Childhood
Natsumi Hoshi was born in Saitama, Japan, on August 21, 1990.
There is little information available regarding Hoshi’s parents and family.
However, her interview reveals that she has an older brother. However, no one knows where he is.
She loved swimming since she was a child.
When she was in high school, she began her national swimming career.
Hoshi studied sports science at Waseda University in Tokyo.
Swimming Profession
Hoshi claims that her brother inspired her to take up swimming.
She became interested in swimming after seeing her brother in the pool when she was two years old.
Natsumi then began swimming in school but never won any major events. It was a hobby she enjoyed.
She kept swimming because she enjoyed it.
She felt she wanted to swim like Ian Thorpe when she was watching the 2000 Sydney Olympics on TV, and swimming became more than a hobby for her.
She became a goal for her that she was determined to achieve regardless of the circumstances.
After his first victory, Hoshi began to take swimming more seriously.
She began to improve her swimming abilities.
She quickly advanced to the level of winning two inter-prefectural high school championships.
She was subsequently diagnosed with Graves disease, which could have ended her career immediately, but she fought back and returned to swimming.
She came back stronger than ever, finishing second in the 200-meter butterfly at the 2008 National Championships, earning her a spot in the Beijing Games.
Beijing Olympics in 2008
Hoshi placed third in her heat and sixth overall in the preliminary heats at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, effectively advancing to the semi-finals.
She didn’t make it to the finals, finishing two spots off of tenth overall.
Hoshi was dissatisfied with her performance, claiming she underperformed.
She claimed that the Olympics inspired her to work harder.
Hoshi intended to compete significantly better in the future Olympics so she wouldn’t have to sit on the sidelines again.
London Olympics in 2012
Hoshi competed in the London Olympics in 2012.
She had a poor start at first, and her prospects were not promising.
However, when she progressed through the qualifying rounds, she was seen as a potential dark horse for the final.
She got off to a slow start, trailing several of the competitors.
But she picked up some speed over the next 50 meters.
Hoshi competes in the 200m butterfly at the 2012 London Olympics.
She moved on to Kathleen Hersey, who was third at the time. Jiao Liuyang of China and Mireia Belmonte of Spain, on the other hand, were barely out of reach.
However, Hoshi secured a medal for Japan by coming third in the competition. She received her first Olympic medal.
Hoshi’s pursuit of gold was bittersweet, but she was content to return home with a medal.
World Championships in 2015
Natsumi Hoshi competed in Kazan, Russia, in the World Swimming Championship.
Hoshi desired to bring gold to her house, and she succeeded this time.
In this tournament, she won the gold medal in the 200m butterfly.
She won the gold medal and the title of World Champion after finishing first in the butterfly swimming race.
Hoshi also proved to be a dark horse in this race.
She finished third or fourth in the majority of the races.
Hoshi appeared to be bringing the Bronze to the country.
She was dead set on getting that gold.
So she turned on the jets in her final 50 meters to be the first to touch the wall and win the gold medal.
She was also the first Japanese woman to win the competition’s gold medal.
Rio Olympics in 2016
Hoshi was directly picked for the Rio Olympics in 2016 after winning gold at the World Championships in 2015.
This time, the dark horse in the swimming race was ahead.
She came extremely close to breaking her Japanese record in the game.
She was neck and neck with Mireia Belmonte Gracia in the first half of the finale, who was ahead of everyone.
It appeared like Japan would win the Olympic gold medal.
Unfortunately, she finished third, trailing the gold champion by barely 0.35 seconds.
Hoshi with her bronze medal from the 200m Butterfly event at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Hoshi took bronze with a time of 2:05.20.
Hoshi had no regrets this time, and she went above and beyond to ensure she brought the medal back to Japan.
She earned a spectacular triumph for back-to-back Olympic bronze medals.
Graves Disease | Natsumi Hoshi
Hoshi was diagnosed with Graves disease when she was 16 years old.
It is an autoimmune condition that affects the thyroid gland. It induces thyroid hormone overproduction.
Shortness of breath, chest pain, and muscle weakness are all symptoms of this agonizing disease.
Hoshi suffered from a lack of immunity and vitality, and her muscles began to ache.
Even simple tasks like mounting the stairs became difficult for her.
Hoshi was just starting in swimming, but this condition dealt her a tremendous setback.
Everyone assumed that her career was ended.
But she was determined to fight for it, and she succeeded. Hoshi fought the disease and beat it within a year.
To detect this condition, she had her thyroid gland removed in November 2014.
She took a year off for the surgery and stayed in bed.
Natsumi returned to swimming stronger before advancing to the Olympics.
Natsumi Hoshi is retiring
Hoshi announced her retirement from swimming at a press conference in Tokyo on October 4th, 2016.
She announced her retirement, stating that she had given her all to swimming and that she now wanted to focus on her health.
Despite her outstanding swimming career, her battle with Graves illness was far from ended.
The condition had the potential to wreck her career, but she fought it in order to advance thus far in her profession.
She stated that she had to struggle with numerous medical difficulties in order to focus more on her swimming career.
But she now feels the need to look for herself, and she believes she has led a competitive career.
She also stated that she is pleased with how far she has progressed.
In conjunction with her retirement announcement, Hoshi indicated that she would remain in the sport as an assistant coach.
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Natsumi Hoshi’s net worth
Natsumi Hoshi’s net worth is unknown, but it is estimated that she is worth between $1 and $5 million.
She amassed a net worth as a professional Japanese swimmer who won two bronze Olympic medals.
A bronze medalist in Japan receives a bonus of $9,000 for each medal.
Hoshi has two bronze medals to her name. As a result, she received an $18,000 bonus for the medal alone.
Natsumi Hoshi’s Online Presence
Natsumi maintains an active Instagram account.
She posts tales on Instagram about her personal life.
Hoshi has a dog, and her newsfeed is full of photographs of her dog.
She also posts culinary and travels images on Instagram.
If you want to get a glimpse into her personal life, you can follow her on social media.
