Prior to the Olympics Tsutomi Oyokota set Japanese records in the 200 and 400 metre freestyles with 2:14.6 and 4:50.4, respectively. Since he had just overcome severe gastroenteritis, his bronze medal in the 400 metres freestyle in Los Angeles was all the more surprising. At that time he was a student at Meiji University.
After graduating from Meiji, he entered the army, reaching the rank of artillery captain by the end of World War II. In December 1950, he joined the Police Reserve, the predecessor to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the equivalent of the Japanese Army. He was appointed to the Special Forces and became involved in the Olympic Games security operations. Two years later he retired after having been promoted to First-class Ground Commander.
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