The Beijing Paralympics will start on the 4th.
Following the military invasion of Ukraine by Russia, an unusual decision was made by the RPC = Russian Paralympic Committee on the 3rd to disallow the participation of Belarusian athletes, not only the performance of athletes but also the significance of the Paralympics and the preciousness of peace. It will be a questioning tournament.
The Beijing Paralympic Games kicked off on the 4th following the Olympic Games last month, and the city of Beijing, which hosted the summer competition in 2008, will be the first city in history to host the summer and winter Paralympics.
The tournament will be held for 10 days until the 13th, and 78 events will be held in 6 competitions. From Japan, 29 athletes will participate in 4 competitions including Momoka Muraoka of alpine skiing who aims to win the tournament for the second time in a row.
Following the Tokyo tournament last summer, the tournament will be held in the corona disaster, and it will be held in the so-called "bubble method" that prevents athletes and related parties from coming into contact with outsiders, and PCR tests are required every day. Infection control measures are taken that surpass those of the Tokyo Games.
Meanwhile, following Russia's continued military invasion of Ukraine, the IPC decided on the 3rd to disallow RPC and Belarusian athletes from participating in the tournament.
A total of 83 athletes will not be able to participate in the tournament, as the decision on the 2nd, which allowed them to participate as a neutral individual, was overturned overnight by the voice of opposition from many countries. There will be changes in the competition schedule and how to proceed.
The biennial winter sports festival for the disabled, which aims to realize a "symbiotic society," has begun under unusual circumstances, and it will be a tournament that questions not only the performance of athletes but also the significance of the Paralympics and the preciousness of peace. increase.
The opening ceremony will be held from 9 pm on the 4th of Japan time at the "National Stadium" in Beijing, commonly known as "Bird's Nest".
The success of Japanese players
Twenty-nine people from Japan will participate in the Beijing Paralympics in four competitions: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, biathlon, and snowboarding.
Ice hockey and wheelchair curling missed the right to participate, and Japan does not participate in team sports.
Alpine skiing
A total of 14 men and women will participate in alpine skiing.
Of these, the girl who is the captain of the Japanese team of this tournament, Momoka Muraoka, who sits and slides, is expected to win the gold medal for the second consecutive tournament.
Muraoka, whose 25th birthday was the day before the opening ceremony, participated in the Winter Paralympics for three consecutive tournaments, and won medals in all five of the previous Pyeongchang Games.
Last year, she participated in the Tokyo tournament on land, and positions this tournament as the culmination of the "dual wield" of summer and winter.
In addition, 41-year-old veteran Taiki Morii, who has won four silver medals and one bronze medal at the Paralympics in the sitting and sliding class, is aiming for the long-sought gold medal.
Both of them will participate in all 5 events.
Nordic skiing
Cross-country skiing and biathlon are separate competitions, but the Japan Ski Association for the Disabled is strengthening as "Nordic skiing", and a total of nine men and women will participate.
Yoshihiro Nitta, a cross-country skiing boy in the standing and skiing class, has participated in seven consecutive tournaments since the 1998 Nagano tournament and has won three gold medals so far.
The "Legend" of the Japanese para-cross-country world, which has announced that it will retire only this season, is aiming for the men's 20-kilometer classical event to be held on the 7th, the final Paralympic Games.
It was Taiki Kawayoke, who is the flag bearer of the Japanese team, who aimed for the Paralympics after meeting Nitta.
Kawaseki, who participated in two consecutive tournaments, won the gold medal in the 2019 World Championship cross-country skiing men's 20-kilometer classical in the standing and skiing class.
I also expect Kawayoke to play an active role as the next Japanese national team ace, with the determination to inherit the baton from Nitta.
snow board
Six boys will participate in the snowboarding where Gurimu Narita won the gold medal in the previous tournament.
By strengthening the team, the number of players who participated has doubled from the previous tournament, and all of them have the experience of standing on the podium at the international tournament.
The captain of the snowboard team is Daichi Oguri, a class with severe foot disabilities who will participate in two consecutive tournaments. ..
In addition, Keiji Okamoto, a former professional snowboarder in the class who has a leg disability in his first appearance, is enthusiastic that he wants to make the "coolest" slide the first Paralympic Games.
Both will be competing in the second event of Snowboard Cross and Banked Slalom.
Japan won 10 medals, including 3 gold medals, in the previous tournament, the third highest number ever.
We have been strengthening each competition for this tournament, but due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, we have had to make major changes to our planned schedule, such as reducing opportunities for overseas expeditions.
Therefore, he said that he would not set a goal to win the Beijing Paralympic medals, and Junichi Kawai, the leader of the Japanese team, said, "We will provide maximum support because there are medals and records before the athletes perform best." I'm talking.