Maiko Fujino

[1][2] She represented her nation Japan at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has won a career total of six medals (one silver and five bronze) in a major international competition, spanning the Pan Pacific Championships and three editions of the Asian Games (2002 to 2010).

[5] The following year, Fujino picked up two more medals in the same stroke (silver in the 400, and bronze in the 200) at the 2003 Summer Universiade in Daegu, South Korea, posting respective marks of 2:17.41 and 4:48.44.

Leading up to the Games, she cleared FINA A-standard entry times of 8:34.17 (800 m freestyle) and 4:40.14 (400 m individual medley) at the Olympic trials in Tokyo to earn an outright selection on the Japanese team.

[8] On the first day of the Games, Fujino posted her personal best of 4:37.35 in the preliminary heats of the 400 m individual medley, but missed out the final by less than 0.21 of a second in eleventh place.

[9] In her second event, 800 m freestyle, Fujino challenged seven other swimmers on the third heat, including former Olympic champion Camelia Potec of Romania, 14-year-old Li Xuanxu of China, and top medal favorite Katie Hoff of the United States.