[1] Tachibana began practicing the sport during her fourth year in elementary school.

Her duet gold medal, won with Miho Takeda at the 2001 Fukuoka Championships, was the first gold medal for a Japanese synchronised swimming team in the history of the tournament.

[3] Tachibana won a gold medal in the duet event at the 2002 Busan Asian Games.

She moved on to a coaching role, working alongside Masayo Imura (known in Japan as “the mother of synchro”).

[2] In February, 2012, Tachibana announced that she would be marrying an office worker living in Osaka.