Despite having set a world record, Ippei Watanabe has sort of been overlooked because of the struggles he's had after the achievement.
But Watanabe put together a resilient performance in the men's 200-meter breaststroke on Sunday, winning with a time of 2 minutes 7.75 seconds at the Pan Pacific Championships at Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center.
It was the first gold medal at a major international tournament for Watanabe, who set the world record of 2:06.67 in a Tokyo regional meet in January, 2017.
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