"Don't count what you have lost, make the most of what you have left" 17:04, August 21

"Don't count what you have lost, make the most of what you have left"
This is the word of a doctor called the "Paralympic Father." It is said to represent the spirit of the Paralympics most simply.
Due to the influence of the new coronavirus, the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are being threatened.
"I think it's unavoidable to stop the Paralympic Games, where people with disabilities can participate even though the Olympics cannot be foreseen." I've
come to hear even such a voice over the Paralympic Games. Still, Para players believe in the next year's event and continue to train hard.
What is the value of the Paralympic Games that players continue to pursue even in the coronary disaster? One year before the opening, I would like to stop and think about the words left by the “Paralympic Father”.
(Sports News Department reporter Yosuke Nakano/Shunsuke Shimanaka)

Cannot do "with corona"

“I don't have Wiz Corona,” says a
gold medalist. Para-track and wheelchair class veteran Tomoya Ito (57). He won two gold medals at the Beijing Paralympics in 2008 and is a top player who is expected to win medals at the Tokyo Paralympics.

For Ito, the new coronavirus is not just an infectious disease. Because of an incurable disease that causes immunity abnormalities, infection can directly lead to death.
For this reason, I was forced to stay at home for half a year until May.

Tomoya Ito
"I have a basic illness and it is a virus that directly leads to death, so I can not coexist because I can not get it. I have to be timid as much as possible."

Many other athletes aiming for the Paralympics have underlying diseases such as lung function.
It
is under these circumstances that such voices are heard from the people concerned, "The Paralympic Games should be canceled for athletes who may become serious ."

Still aiming for Tokyo

Ito believes in the Tokyo Paralympic Games and is training repeatedly.
Why do you aim for the Paralympic Games while facing the danger of life? When I asked Ito, he answered:

Tomoya Ito:
There are many players who spend such a time that it is more difficult to get to the tournament safely than to win a medal. However, if the world opens the Paralympics before they fought Corona, the players who survived the Coronal War We believe that we and the people of the world can come together."

"Don't count what you have lost, make the most of what is left"

Paralympic power that players believe.
The words introduced at the beginning symbolize this.

"Don't count what you have lost, make the most of what you have left," left by

Dr. Ludwig Gutmann (1899-1980), a doctor at a British hospital called the "Father of the Paralympics."

Each of them has their own disabilities, and they have been supporting many people by pushing the backs of the athletes who are engaged in the competition while facing great difficulties.

The Tokyo Paralympics that changed lives

Yoshiteru Hoshi (72), who lives in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, is also one of the people who have supported that word.
Ms. Hoshi, who has a lower body disorder in her childhood polio at the age of two, has been practicing her life with these words in her chest.
It started in 1964 when I actually watched the last Tokyo Paralympic Games held at the age of 16 at the venue.

Yoshiteru Hoshi
"The difference in physical strength, speed, and the fact that overseas players are amazing. After seeing the world's top technology, I admired that it was cool. I thought I should do my best."

At that time, there were few cultures in Japan where people with disabilities played sports. While working, Hoshi challenges various parasports such as wheelchair basketball, land, swimming, and table tennis.
At that time, it was the word of Dr. Gutman that I met in the United Kingdom where I was traveling. Hoshi talks about his feelings at that time.

Yoshiteru Hoshi
"Isn't human beings praying for something that doesn't exist, but I can't move forward even if I'm thinking about that?"

Twelve years after the shocking impact of the Tokyo Paralympics, Hoshi finally participates in the Paralympic Games in wheelchair basketball and athletics.

Then, he won the gold medal in the wheelchair slalom on land, which competes in wheelchair operation technology.
After that, he became a coach and retired from the line. Even now, he still teaches children how to play wheelchair tennis.

Yoshiteru Hoshi
"Without the Tokyo Paralympics, I wouldn't be absorbed in parasports, and I've lived up to the point of maximizing the use of certain things. It's a big trigger for my life."

“The power to change society”

Another one. Some women show in their own way that the Paralympics have the power to change society.
I am Saeko Yoshida (77), an architect.

Dr. Gutman's words are displayed in the refrigerator at home, and he says, "The inscription of life."
I participated in the last Tokyo Paralympics as an interpreter.
The experience at that time determined Yoshida-san's future life.

Saeko Yoshida
"I was surprised to learn that there is no difference between a disabled person and a healthy person by seeing an overseas player who is naturally involved as a normal person regardless of whether or not they have a disability."

"
Make the most of what is left" As the words say, the athletes use their wheelchairs dexterously and devote themselves to the competition. Barrier-free equipment, such as slopes and handrails installed in the Olympic Village, is rare at the time. Mr. Yoshida, who was studying architecture at the time, decided to follow the path of an architect who would create a "barrier-free" house that can live in a wheelchair.

Since then, he has been active as a pioneer in barrier-free architecture and has been involved in more than 100 barrier-free homes for about 50 years. A large toilet with a flat entrance and walls that can be easily accessed by wheelchairs. For many years, we have focused our efforts on popularizing barrier-free equipment, which is now commonplace. It is said that Dr. Gutman's words were always at the origin of the idea.

Saeko Yoshida
"If something is missing, I would like to use wisdom to do something. Gutman's language is not limited to barrier-free. It was very helpful to maintain a very positive attitude. One word with the Tokyo Paralympics 56 years ago decided my life and is the backbone of my life."

For the power to survive Corona

The words of Dr. Gutman, who has the power to change life and society. Now that the world is in the midst of Coronal Evil, it is a hint to survive a new daily life that seems crippled. Some people think that way.
This is Miki Matheson, a gold medalist at the Nagano Paralympic Games.

I am the leader of "Paralympic Education" conducted at schools nationwide. We are telling the children the lives of the athletes who have overcome their daily lives due to accidents and illness. And it is the history of the Paralympic Games, where we have devised tools and rules for people with disabilities who are said to be unable to do sports, and have accumulated a track record of being able to do sports. I believe that the Paralympic spirit of
“focus on what you can do now, not what you cannot do”
will help you overcome the current adversity of Coronal Evil.

Maki Matheson
"If the postponed year becomes a time to learn the value of the Paralympic Games, what will be felt from next year's competition will be much larger."

Paralympic value

The Paralympic Games have come to life in their lives beyond the existence of a sports competition.
That is why even if as many people as possible know that there will be people who have lived with special feelings in the Paralympic Games, even if they can enjoy the tournament that was held overcoming difficulties next year, but unfortunately it could not be held want.
Because of the unstable age of Corona, it makes people notice the strength and preciousness of living.
I think that is an important value of the Paralympic Games.

Sports news department reporter
Yosuke Nakano

Sports News Department
Shunsuke Shimanaka