Ippei Watanabe, a third-year student at the School of Sport Sciences, won the bronze medal marking 2:07.47 for the 200m breaststroke in the 2017 FINA World Aquatics Championships, which took place in Budapest, Hungary. He stood on the podium with Yasuhiro Koseki, another Japanese who took home the silver. This is the first time where two Japanese won medals in the same event at the Championships.

In the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, Watanabe broke the Olympic record at 2:07.22 during the semi-final rounds in the 200m breaststroke. Although he ended in sixth place, he advanced the world record at 2:06.67 in January 2017 during a competition in Tokyo. Expectations for Watanabe in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games have become greater due to these stellar achievements.