Kenji Watanabe

Personal information
Born	(1969-07-17)July 17, 1969
Died	September 18, 2017(2017-09-18) (aged 48)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Breaststroke
Medal record Representing  Japan Asian Games 1986 Seoul 200m breaststroke 1990 Beijing 200m breaststroke 1990 Beijing 100m breaststroke 1990 Beijing 4x100m medley relay 1986 Seoul 100m breaststroke

Kenji Watanabe (渡辺 健司, Watanabe Kenji, July 17, 1969 – September 18, 2017) was a Japanese breaststroke swimmer. He represented his native country in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1984. His best Olympic result was the 7th place (2:14.70) in the Men's 200m Breaststroke event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. He was the grandson of Hisakichi Toyoda, who won a gold medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle in the 1932 Summer Olympics.

At the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, Watanabe won the gold medal in the 200m breaststroke and the bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke.

Watanabe again won gold in the 200m breaststroke at the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing. He also won silver medals in the 100m breaststroke and the 4 × 100 m medley relay.

Watanabe died at his home on September 18, 2017. He was 48 years old.^[1]

• Kenji Watanabe at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
• Kenji Watanabe at Olympics.com