Wheelchair classes were held at the Tokyo Paratriathlon and Triathlon, with Junpei Kimura in 6th place for boys and Wakako Tsuchida in 9th place for girls.
The Tokyo Paralympics triathlon is held at Odaiba Kaihin Park, and the wheelchair class is a combination of a swim that swims 750 meters, a bike that runs 20 kilometers on a hand-held bicycle called a "hand cycle", and a run that runs 5 kilometers on a wheelchair racer. I competed for 25.75 km.
The boys started after 6:30 am, and Kimura, who will participate in the Paralympics for the second consecutive tournament as a triathlete player and for the fifth consecutive tournament including swimming, participated.
Kimura finished in 3rd place in his first swim, but dropped to 5th place on the following bike and couldn't rewind in the last run, finishing in 1 hour 4 minutes 50 seconds and finishing 6th.
Kimura said, "I was able to run with all my heart so that I could see him running to the end without giving up. Now I have both regret and fulfillment, but I have done everything I can. I am happy in this social situation. I'm just grateful to have had such a good time. "
Following the boys, girls were also held, and they have won gold medals at both the summer and winter Paralympics, and 46-year-old Wakako Tsuchida, who is attracting attention for the dual wield challenge of triathlon and wheelchair marathon, participated in this tournament.
Tsuchida was behind in 10th place in the first swim and tried to make a comeback in the last run following the bike, but was 9th in 1 hour 22 minutes 32 seconds.
Tsuchida recalled, "I'm sorry I couldn't overtake the previous player, but it's refreshing to finish. I was able to run with happiness."
After that, he enthused, "I think I was able to take in a movement that I had never done before in a triathlon and meet a competition that allows me to grow both physically and mentally. In the marathon, I want to put out my current strength."
In the men's wheelchair class, the gold medal was Jetze Plat of the Netherlands, the silver medal was Florian Brungraber of Austria, and the bronze medal was Giovanni Achenza of Italy.
In the women's wheelchair class, Kendall Gretsch of the United States, who turned around just before the finish, won the gold medal, Lauren Parker of Australia won the silver medal, and Eva Maria Moral Pedrero of Spain won the bronze medal by one second.
The final day of the Tsuchida Marathon, which challenges dual wield
At the 8th Paralympic Games in summer and winter, Tsuchida is challenging his first attempt to dual wield a triathlon and a wheelchair marathon.
This unusual challenge was triggered by an unexpected event.
At the last wheelchair marathon in Rio de Janeiro, Tsuchida developed asthma caused by exercising after missing a medal in 4th place, just one second behind the top.
I turned to triathlon when I started swimming to improve my asthma constitution, but this had an unexpected effect.
Not only did my asthma symptoms subside as I worked on swimming, but the movement of the water greatly increased the flexibility around the shoulder blades, which also helped speed up my wheelchair.
Tsuchida
"Challenging new things is an opportunity to change your own values and ways of thinking and expand your potential."
We decided on the dual wield of triathlon and wheelchair marathon.
This attitude evoked sympathy, and at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics held in July, he also played a major role in carrying the torch on behalf of para-athletes.
On the other hand, I am also aware of the difficulties unique to dual wield.
A 5km "run" with a triathlon wheelchair requires sprinting ability, but endurance is important for a 42.195km wheelchair marathon.
Furthermore, in triathlon, it is necessary to efficiently practice "swim" and "bike" by hand cycle, and it is not easy to use dual wield to compete with the world's top athletes in two competitions.
The triathlon on the 29th, which was the first competition, finished in 9th place, but Tsuchida's "strong will" that he does not want to decide his own ceiling is one of the values that the Paralympics attach great importance to.
The wheelchair marathon is September 5, the final day of the Paralympics.
Keep an eye on the challenges of para-athlete legends to see what kind of race they will show in a week.