Para athletes taking part in the postponed Tokyo Games have been asked to arrive at the Paralympic village no earlier than seven days before the start of their first event, the International Paralympic Committee said Wednesday. The IPC guidelines are almost identical to those for Olympic athletes announced by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach last week.
In a recent interview with Kyodo News, Misato Michishita, who holds the marathon world record for the women’s T12 class, said her single-minded obsession with Paralympic gold is what has kept her going for the last six months amid coronavirus-related restrictions.
“I hope that the Paralympics will be a chance for people to realise that people (with disabilities) live among them” and are part of society, Murakami added.
“Mr. Suga is a keen advocate and supporter of the Paralympic Games, the Paralympic Movement and the transformational impact next year’s Games will have on driving social inclusion in Japan.”
The Japan Wheelchair Basketball Federation said Tuesday that a member of the Japanese women’s team has been deemed ineligible to compete at the Tokyo Paralympics for not being compliant with the International Paralympic Committee’s classification rules.
“I can’t go the stadium at the risk of my life…There is no life ‘with corona’ for me.”
She finished the race in 26.32 seconds, against the Japanese female record of 24.21 seconds set by herself, coming first in her heat. “I’m so happy to finish first. I could really enjoy swimming,” Ikee said.
Parsons said some para-athletes were particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus, and that at current risk levels the Paralympics could not take place.
As the world celebrates one year to go until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics following their postponement earlier this year, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons answers questions on preparations for the Games and what impact he believes they will have in 2021.
He said he imagined two possibilities — that both the Paralympics and the Olympics will be held in Tokyo, or that neither of them will be.
