Naohide Yamaguchi of Tokyo Para Gold wins Japan Para Swimming Championships

On the 18th, the second day of the Japan Para Games, where top domestic para swimmers participate, Naohide Yamaguchi, who holds the world record for this event, came in second in the men's 100m breaststroke class for intellectual disabilities. He won the championship by a margin and showed the ability of the Tokyo Paralympic gold medalist.

The Japan Para Swimming Championships are being held at the Yokohama International Swimming Pool in Tsuzuki Ward, Yokohama City. Yamaguchi, who has a world record in the event, participated.

Yamaguchi hurt his right knee during practice in August this year, and he has not been able to practice in the water for about two weeks, and he still feels uncomfortable. With a time of 1 minute 4.99 seconds, he won the championship with a difference of more than 5 seconds from the 2nd place.

In the women's 100m breaststroke class with moderate motor impairment, 19-year-old Maori Yui won the championship with a time of 2:00.92, surpassing the Japanese record she set at the Tokyo Paralympics by more than one second. Did.

In the same women's 100-meter breaststroke class with mild motor dysfunction, Kaon Fukuda, a 16-year-old first-year high school student who placed 4th at the World Championships in June this year, set a new Asian record of 1 minute 25 seconds in qualifying. Marking 68, he showed a strong swim in the final and won the championship, showing remarkable growth for the promising young swimmer.

Meanwhile, in the mentally handicapped class, Aira Kinoshita, a 16-year-old first-year high school student, set new Japanese records of 2:29.24 in the women's 200m individual medley and 1:1.75 in the 100m freestyle. I marked it and achieved a new Japanese record in three events so far following the 17th.

Naohide Yamaguchi "I want to improve further for the Paris Paralympics"

Naohide Yamaguchi, who won the men's 100-meter breaststroke intellectual disability class, said that he hurt his right knee during practice in August, saying, "I still feel uncomfortable, but the pain has calmed down. I was injured. The important issue was whether or not I could use my strength while I was running, but the movement of my upper body was on par with the Tokyo Paralympics, and my time was in the 1 minute 4 seconds range, so I think I was able to show my strength.” I looked back.

After that, he said, "I want to fix my right leg and adjust the movement of my lower body and the strength of my kicks. The level of breaststroke in the world is rising, so I have to improve further until the Paris Paralympics." I looked ahead.

Maori Yui "I really wanted to set a new Japanese record"

Maori Yui, who set a new Japanese record in the women's 100-meter breaststroke motor dysfunction class and won the championship, said, "I really wanted to set a new Japanese record in the final, so I'm happy to be able to shorten my personal best. I've been practicing breaststroke for the individual medley, and I'm glad that the results came out.I'd like to strengthen myself for next year's world championships."

Fukuda Kanon "The factor is that I have been working on strengthening my kicks"

16-year-old Kaon Fukuda, who set a new Asian record in the women's 100-meter breaststroke qualifying session for motor impairment class, said, "I'm aiming for a new personal best and a new Japanese record, and I'm aiming for the best time from the qualifying round. At this year's World Championships, I felt that my kicks and core strength were weak compared to the rest of the world, so I worked on strengthening my kicks.I think that was the reason why I got this time. I talked about the response.

On top of that, she said, "She lost about 1 second in the final compared to qualifying, so next time I'll do my best to consistently set times."

Aira Kinoshita "Congratulations gave me confidence"

16-year-old Aira Kinoshita, who set new Japanese records in the women's 200-meter individual medley and 100-meter freestyle intellectual disability class, said, "I'm disappointed because I was much slower than my personal best in the 200-meter individual medley. It was light. I swam consciously not to make my swim smaller. Many people congratulated me, which gave me confidence."