Paris Paralympics: Swimmer Suzuki wins 1st Japan gold, Sugiura misses medal

From Kyodo

August 30 2024

PARIS – Swimmer Takayuki Suzuki secured Japan’s first Paralympic gold in Paris on Thursday in the men’s 50-meter breaststroke, while cyclist Keiko Sugiura suffered an upset as she failed to advance to a medal race during the qualification round.

Suzuki, who was born with limb defects on his arms and legs, surged to victorywith a time of 48.04 seconds in the SB3 class at Paris La Defense Arena. Competing in his sixth consecutive games, the veteran nabbed his first gold since the 2008 Games and his 11th Paralympic medal overall.

“I swam exactly as I’d envisioned,” he said, adding he had “surpassed his 21-year-old self” after achieving a new personal best since clocking 48.49 seconds during the Beijing Games.

The 37-year-old expressed gratitude to his foster parent Yo Komatsu, who died last year at 89. She was “both a mother and a father to me,” Suzuki said, detailing how Komatsu had always encouraged him to swim and gave him the strength to survive in a society that favors people without disabilities.

Suzuki came under Komatsu’s care when he was around 1 year old, and whether it came to using his three fingers to pick up a spoon or use a pair of scissors, she always encouraged him to “do whatever you can for yourself,” he said.

Sugiura had been seeking to extend her record as Japan’s oldest gold medalist, but the 53-year-old cyclist was left devastated when she finished fifth in the women’s C1-3 3000m individual qualification race.

“I believe I gave it my all,” Sugiura said as she fought back tears. The two-time gold medalist at the Tokyo Paralympics finished with a time of 3 minutes and 53.549 seconds at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome, just outside Paris.

Feeling the pressure from watching her rivals Wang Xiaomei of China and Briton Daphne Schrager break world records before her race, Sugiura said she faltered in the middle of the competition despite making her usual strong start. Wang and Schrager went on to win gold and silver respectively.

Sugiura also speculated that her health may have impacted her performance.

“I hadn’t been able to sleep since last week due to asthma attacks,” she said with a lingering cough. “When I arrived in Paris, I tried getting on the track but couldn’t achieve decent times.”

Sugiura said she was finally able to sleep soundly the previous night, but that her health issues had already cost her some training time.

But she said she still has “no regrets” about her performance, and added that, given her age, competing was still worthwhile if she is able to inspire people of older generations, particularly those in aging societies like Japan.

Sugiura took up para cycling after suffering a brain injury in a cycling accident in 2016 and made her Paralympic debut in Tokyo at age 50.