Of the 29 Japanese athletes who have participated in the Beijing Paralympics, four have also participated in the Summer Paralympics in another competition.
Of these, three have participated in the Paralympics twice in just six months since last year's Tokyo Games, and the "dual wield" of challenging multiple competitions is spreading in the world of parasports.
Momoka Muraoka, an alpine skiing girl who is the captain of the Japanese team at the Beijing Games, has been on the track for three years after the previous Pyeongchang Games, which won five medals including a gold medal.
She trained her core and more through athletics training, and at the Tokyo Games, she advanced to her goal final in the women's 100-meter wheelchair class, and she finished sixth.
Muraoka said about the results of challenging multiple competitions, "I was able to reconsider myself from various angles by focusing on land and keeping a distance from skiing," and now I position it as "the culmination of dual wielding." Even in the competition, we have won medals in all three events so far.
Junta Kosuda, a snowboard boy, met Atsushi Yamamoto, a leading para-athletics player, in a classroom where he learned how to run with a prosthetic leg for competition.
After seeing Yamamoto participating in a snowboarding tournament, I myself went on the path of "dual wield".
At last year's Tokyo tournament, he finished 7th in the men's long jump prosthesis class on land.
Ryohei Ariyasu, a cross-country skier and visually impaired class, started rowing after participating in a player discovery program in Tokyo and participated in the Tokyo Paralympics.
Cross-country skiing has been part of winter training where you can't practice boating.
In addition, Keiichi Sato of Biathlon, who participated in the Winter Paralympics for four consecutive tournaments, has participated in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games as a triathlon.
Although he was not able to participate in the Tokyo tournament due to injury, the movement of "dual wield" to challenge multiple competitions is spreading in the world of parasports.
Spread of support in the background
Regarding the increasing number of para-athletes engaged in multiple competitions, Professor Noriaki Fujita of Nihon Fukushi University, who is familiar with parasports, said, "The support system from the national government and companies is in place, and the conditions for devoting yourself to competitions throughout the year are in place. In addition to that, it may be possible to practice rational and efficient practice, and it may be possible to play two competitions. " increase.
On top of that, "Athletes who can participate in the Paralympics in multiple competitions are athletes with high performance, and by having such athletes play various competitions, people with disabilities are stimulated and feel like trying themselves. It is possible that attention will be focused on competitions that have not been well known until now, and it is possible that they will become more widespread. " ..
"Dual wield" is also overseas
Overseas, there are also "dual wield" athletes who won gold medals at the Paralympics, which were held twice in about half a year in Tokyo and Beijing.
The American Oksana Masters, who has a disability in both legs, won the gold medal in the second bicycle event at the Tokyo Paralympics.
At the Beijing Games, he participated in the sitting and sliding class of biathlon and cross-country skiing, and by the 6th day of the competition, he participated in the 4th event and won the gold medal in the biathlon women's 6km sitting and sliding class, and 3 silver medals. Has won.
On the other hand, Kendall Gretsch of the United States, who is in the same class, has had a leg injury since he was born and participated in the triathlon wheelchair class at the Tokyo Games last year.
In a race that competed in 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, Gretsch reverses just before the finish and wins a gold medal. I got it.
The three triathlons, biathlon, and cross-country skiing are so-called "five sword styles".
Gretsch won the bronze medal at the Biathlon 6km, which was the first competition in the Beijing Games, and won the gold medal at the Biathlon 10km on the 8th, overtaking the Masters.
Regarding challenging multiple competitions, Gretsch said, "Practice on land is also useful for skiing. It is different from triathlon in that it uses muscles and stays on a sit ski all the time, but it is the same in terms of endurance. It's a different sport, but I like training and I'm really looking forward to it. "