The key to the success of the Paralympic Games-From Dubai to Tokyo November 21 13:11

The Para athletics world championship held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, closed on the 15th after a nine-day schedule. 13 athletes got tickets to the Tokyo Paralympics and made a great result in the heat countermeasures. What do we need from now on for the success of next year's tournament and for players to make further leap forward? Explore the success of the Tokyo Paralympics from Dubai. (Sports News Department reporter Yosuke Nakano)

Response obtained with 13 medals

Japan has 43 medals and 13 medals in total, 3 gold, 3 silver and 7 bronze. The result exceeded the pre-meeting goal of “10 or more”.

Thirteen players who were in fourth place and were selected as the Tokyo Paralympics representative. In terms of improving competitiveness, we were able to show certain results.

Among them, Tomohiro Sato, a wheelchair class in Japan, won the second event in two consecutive tournaments. At 400 meters, he won a direct confrontation with American rival Raymond Martin, who lost the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics three years ago.

For Japan, which was the first summer tournament in Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games, without a gold medal in history, Sato gained two gold medals with the strength of Shimouma, one of the biggest harvests for the Tokyo tournament. .

In addition, it is also a good material that a veteran and younger players have emerged.

34-year-old Maya Nishinishi, who has not participated in the 3rd Paralympic Games, has won a gold medal in a class with obstacles in the long jump.

While other players couldn't improve the record in difficult conditions with headwinds, they kept calm and stable jumps and reversed at the last jump. Shows the strength of the veteran big stage.

And the 20-year-old in the class with the long jump leg obstacle, Tomomi Serizawa and the 25-year-old in the 5000-meter visually impaired class, Kenya Karasawa both started the competition after the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics. This time, we won the bronze medal in the first world championship challenge.

Mr. Toshihito Mitsui, President of Japan's Para athletics team, responded, saying, “Young and veteran powers worked well, and the results of strengthening so far have come out.”

Distance to the clarified world

On the other hand, some players were expected to receive medals but did not receive them. It is symbolic that Sae Shigemoto, a class with a disability in the 400-meter arm who has always won medals at major international competitions after the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, finished 7th and missed the representative appointment.

In addition, the “universal relay” by four athletes in classes such as visual impairments and wheelchairs, where medals were also expected, was disqualified after failing to “touch” from 3 to 4 runs.

The reason for the disqualification was that the 3 runners were replaced by injuries just before the tournament and the “touch work” that they had polished was disturbed, but the time of the 3 teams that went up to the podium exceeded all Japan records and was a powerful country It became clear that there was a clear difference between

Furthermore, in the track event of the class with the lightest obstacles for wheelchairs, one of the six players did not fall within the fourth place and was not selected as the representative.

Ms. Mitsui, the representative of Japan, has many events that have been distanced from the world, and said, “I want to urgently correct the events for which the top players in Japan have lagging behind for the next year.” I showed that there was.

Countermeasures against heat

Countermeasures against heat are important along with improving competitiveness in order to win the world's powerhouses. For example, wheelchair players are more likely to be affected by reflections in strong sunlight close to the ground. Para athletes are said to be more susceptible to the effects of heat due to obstacles.

Japan was positioning this tournament in Dubai, where the daytime temperature exceeded 35 degrees Celsius, as the first place to test various heat countermeasures in Tokyo.

Players actively take measures against heat, such as taking a urine test every morning to prevent dehydration, and wearing `` Ice vest '' with a refrigerant in between exercises to suppress the rise in body temperature. I worked on it.

As a result, there were no athletes who were in poor health due to the heat, which was a big improvement from last year's Asian Para Games, where nearly 10 people showed symptoms of heat stroke.

Among these, “Ice Vest” was improved by incorporating the opinions of the players who actually wore it. In the future, we will prepare various sizes for each player.

Furthermore, for athletes who use wheelchairs, Japan's representative director Ibusuki Ridori will also consider the development of a vest with a specially short length so as not to disturb the movement of manipulating wheelchairs, and more effective measures to `` do everything you can '' It is a policy to seek.

Tips for the success of the tournament given by the first person

Next year's Tokyo Paralympic Games will have a big goal of “full stadium”, that is, “fill up all venues”.

Nonetheless, Atsushi Yamamoto, the leading prosthetic athlete, gave a hint on how to achieve this in the Paralympic Games, which is less familiar than the Olympics.

Immediately before the tournament, he deliberately went to a local Japanese school and interacted with the children. While joking on the prosthetic leg I was wearing, I joked to make the kids laugh and appealed the importance of the spirit of challenge.

In order to make people feel close to parasports, such as conveying the message as an athlete while immersing the charm of one person as a person, we have made various efforts.

The children later watched the prosthetic leg jumpers seriously, cheering on Yamamoto who participated in the long jump. And after watching the game, he talked with his eyes shining, saying, “It ’s so cool to jump like that with a prosthetic leg” and “I want to see the Tokyo Paralympics,” and I saw the moment when Yamamoto's steady efforts came to fruition. I was able to do.

“The first goal at the Tokyo Paralympics is not“ medals ”but“ get to know ”, Yamamoto says.

I felt that the accumulation of such steady efforts by top athletes was effective in realizing the “Full Stadium”.

The best battle will be in Tokyo next year

Japan gained great harvest and challenges at the World Championship. However, it is only next year's Tokyo Paralympics that the world's powerhouses will peak.

In order for Japanese players to achieve the best results after filling the venue with many spectators, it seems that the key is how to make use of everything gained in Dubai.

Sports News Department reporter Yosuke Nakano Joined in 2008 Kanazawa Station Miyazaki Station