The former Paralympic swimmer said that the legacy of the Tokyo Paralympics should be Japan becoming more aware of people with disabilities and barriers they face and realizing a more inclusive society.
The Nippon Foundation Para-Arena, a dedicated gymnasium that opened in 2018 as a facility to strengthen athletes with disabilities in preparation for Tokyo hosting the Paralympics, is expected to end operations by the end of fiscal year 2021.
This summer’s Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games satisfied certain standards despite the coronavirus pandemic, Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo Games organizing committee, indicated Monday.
A total of 323 coronavirus infections were recorded during the Tokyo Paralympics, the games’ organizing committee announced Wednesday, the same day the athletes’ village officially closed.
Broadcast via NHK’s educational channel, the deaf interpreters, for whom sign language is their first language, were able to convey more detailed and nuanced coverage of the Olympic closing ceremony and Paralympic opening ceremony by communicating information provided to them by signers who can hear.
The share of Japanese people with disabilities aged 7 to 19 who routinely engage in sports fell to 27.9 pct in 2020 from 30.7 pct in 2013.
The more popular sports like athletics and swimming were broadcast live, starting with the qualification rounds, during the Aug. 24-Sept. 5 games, but niche sports without Japanese medal contenders like powerlifting and taekwondo were absent.
“It’s been different. It’s not been the same games that we were used to,” said British wheelchair tennis player Jordanne Whiley, who was competing in her fourth Paralympics.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Friday he has been impressed by the performances of athletes “overcoming difficulties” and competing at the Tokyo Paralympics, voicing hope to continue promoting the spirit of “barrier free.”
A foreign Paralympian has been hospitalized after contracting COVID-19, the first such case among athletes either at the Tokyo Olympics or Paralympics, the games organizing committee said Thursday.
