Natsumi Hoshi

Who is Natsumi Hoshi?

Natsumi Hoshi is a Japanese competitive swimmer.  Natsumi Hoshi specialized in the 200-meter butterfly, is now retired.

Natsumi demonstrated to everyone that with determination and hard work, nothing-not even a disease-could keep her from becoming one of the best swimmers.

Natsumi is a well-known swimmer who has won two Olympic bronze medals, a gold medal from the 2015 World Championship, and the distinction of being named the Best Athlete of the Year in 2011.

Early Years of Natsumi Hoshi

On August 21, 1990, Natsumi was born in Saitama, Japan.

Little is known about Hoshi’s parents and other relatives.

However, it was revealed during her interview that she has an older brother.

However, no one is aware of his whereabouts.

She had a deep love for swimming from a young age.

When she was a senior in high school, she started her national swimming career.

Hoshi enrolled in Tokyo’s Waseda University to study sports science.

More Facts about Natsumi Hoshi

Career in Swimming

Hoshi’s introduction to swimming:

Hoshi claims that her brother served as her inspiration for taking up swimming.

When she was two years old, she became interested in swimming after seeing her brother in the water.

Natsumi then began swimming throughout her time at school, although she was unable to take home any significant victories.

She cherished this passion of hers. She kept swimming because she enjoyed doing it.

She felt she wanted to swim like Ian Thorpe when she was watching the 2000 Sydney Olympics on television, and swimming for her became more than a love.

It turned into something she was determined to accomplish.

After achieving his first victory, Hoshi began to take swimming more seriously.

She started practicing her swimming.

She quickly attained the talent necessary to take home two inter-prefectural high school titles.

After receiving the Graves disease diagnosis, which might have immediately ended her swimming career, she fought to return to the sport and succeeded.

She competed at the 2008 National Championships stronger than ever, placing second in the 200-meter butterfly, and earning a spot in the Beijing Games.

Beijing Olympics in 2008

Hoshi advanced to the semi-finals of the preliminary heats at the 2008 Beijing Olympics after placing third in her heat and sixth overall.

She came just two positions short of 10th place overall, preventing her from making it to the finals.

Hoshi felt she underachieved and expressed his disappointment in her performance.

She claimed that the Olympics helped her to work harder.

Hoshi intended to perform significantly better during the following Olympics so she wouldn’t have to sit on the sidelines once more.

London Olympics of 2012

Hoshi took part in the London Olympics in 2012.

She got off to a very poor start at first, and things did not look good for her.

But as she advanced through the preliminary rounds, she motivated herself and became viewed as a potential underdog for the championship.

She got out to a sluggish start and lagged behind many of the opponents.

Over the next 50 meters, however, she picked up some speed.

She moved in the direction of third place at the time Kathleen Hersey.

Jiao Liuyang from China and Mireia Belmonte from Spain, though, were barely out of reach.

Hoshi, however, won the medal for his country by coming in third in the race.

Her first Olympic medal was earned by her.

Hoshi was thrilled to return home with a medal but felt mixed emotions as she went for the gold.

World Championships in 2015

In Kazan, Russia, Natsumi took part in the world swimming competition.

Hoshi successfully fulfilled her desire to bring gold home this time.

In this tournament, she won the gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly.

She won the gold medal and the title of World Champion by coming in first place in the butterfly swimming competition.

Hoshi also showed in this competition that she was a dark horse.

In most of the races, she finished third or fourth.

Hoshi appeared to be planning to bring the Bronze to the nation.

She was, nonetheless, adamant about getting the gold.

She, therefore, activated her jets during her final 50 meters in order to touch the wall first and win the gold medal.

Additionally, she was the first Japanese woman to take home the gold in that event.

Rio Olympics 2016

Hoshi was automatically chosen for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio after winning the gold medal at the 2015 World Championship.

This time, the underdog in the swimming competition was in the lead.

She played the game really well, coming very close to her Japanese record.

She and Mireia Belmonte Gracia, who was in front of everyone, were neck and neck in the first stages of the competition.

It appeared as though Japan would win the Olympic gold.

Unfortunately, she finished third and trailed the gold champion by only 0.35 seconds.

Hoshi swam in 2:05.20 to win the bronze medal.

This time, Hoshi did not look back and gave it her all to bring the medal back to her own Japan.

She had impressive success in the Olympics game, capturing back-to-back bronze.

Graves disease | Natsumi Hoshi

Hoshi was 16 years old when she was given Graves disease diagnosis, a rare condition.

This immunological condition has an impact on the thyroid gland.

Thyroid hormones are overproduced as a result of it.

It is a painful condition that results in chest pain, muscle weakness, and shortness of breath.

Hoshi had weak energy and immunity, and her muscles had begun to hurt.

She found it difficult to perform even basic tasks like climbing stairs.

Hoshi was just starting her swimming career when this illness struck, which was distressing.

Everybody believed that her career was ended.

However, she fought for it because she wanted to.

Within a year, Hoshi battled the disease and defeated it.

In November 2014, she had her thyroid gland removed to get a diagnosis.

She underwent the procedure, took a year off, and was in bed all day.

Olympic achievements, records, and earnings of Connor Jaeger

Natsumi rebuilt her swimming ability before qualifying for the Olympics.

Retirement

On October 4, 2016, in Tokyo, Hoshi announced her retirement from swimming during a press conference.

She made her retirement known, stating that she had given swimming her all and would now like to put her health first.

Even though she had a fantastic swimming career, she was still fighting Graves illness.

She battled the illness so she could advance in her career, even though it might have potentially destroyed it.

She claimed that because she wanted to concentrate more on her swimming career, she had to cope with numerous medical issues.

However, she now feels that she needs to look after herself as well because she believes she has led a competitive career.

She added that she is happy with what she has accomplished thus far.

Hoshi announced her resignation and also stated that she would continue coaching as an assistant.

Value of Natsumi Hoshi

There is no information available on Natsumi Hoshi’s net worth, however, it is assumed that she is worth between $1 and $5 million.

She acquired her wealth as a professional swimmer from Japan and winner of two Olympic bronze medals.

Japan awards a prize of $9,000 for each medal won by an athlete.

Two bronze medals have been earned by Natsumi Hoshi.

She, therefore, received an $18,000 bonus for the medal alone.

Also read:      Sam Kendricks     Dave Lattin      Devon Larratt

Social Media

Natsumi Hoshi maintains a presence on Instagram.

She uses Instagram posts and stories to disclose details about her personal life.

Hoshi has a dog, and her newsfeed is crammed with images of the animal.

On her Instagram, she further posts pictures of cuisine and travel.

Instagram has 4.8K users (as of 2021)