| Birth Date: | 16 September 1980 |
| Birth Place: | Osaka |
| Height: | 1.83 m |
| Weight: | 74 kg |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Event: | Pole vault |
is a Japanese pole vaulter.
His personal best is 5.83 metres, which is the current Japanese National Record (as of 2019/01/01) achieved in May 2005 in Shizuoka. Sawano is a three-time Olympian (2004, 2008, 2016), two-time Olympic Finalist, whose best finish was 7th at the Rio Olympics (2016).
Sawano is currently coached by the staff at the University of Japan (Nichidai) and USA Track and Field National Pole Vault Chair, Brian Yokoyama. He was formerly coached by former Japanese record holder Teruyasu Yonekura and renown Japanese pole coach Yamazaki.
| Representing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Asian Championships | Colombo, Sri Lanka | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 5.40 m |
| 2003 | World Championships | Paris, France | 10th (q) | 5.60 m | |
| 2004 | World Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 14th (q) | 5.55 m | |
| Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 13th | 5.55 m | ||
| 2005 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 8th | 5.50 m | |
| Asian Championships | Incheon, South Korea | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 5.40 m | |
| 2006 | Asian Indoor Championships | Pattaya, Thailand | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 5.60 m |
| World Indoor Championships | Moscow, Russia | 9th (q) | 5.65 m | ||
| World Athletics Final | Stuttgart, Germany | 6th | 5.65 m | ||
| World Cup | Athens, Greece | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 5.70 m[1] | |
| Asian Games | Doha, Qatar | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 5.60 m | |
| 2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | – (q) | NM | |
| 2008 | Asian Indoor Championships | Doha, Qatar | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 5.45 m |
| World Indoor Championships | Valencia, Spain | 10th (q) | 5.65 m | ||
| Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 16th (q) | 5.55 m | ||
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 10th | 5.50 m | |
| Asian Championships | Guangzhou, China | bgcolor=cc9966 | 3rd | 5.45 m | |
| 2011 | Asian Championships | Kobe, Japan | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 5.50 m |
| World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 14th | 5.65 m | ||
| 2013 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 14th (q) | 5.40 m | |
| 2014 | Asian Games | Incheon, South Korea | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 5.55 m |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 7th | 5.50 m | |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 27th (q) | 5.45 m | |