The Para Athletics Japan Championships kicked off in Kobe City on 29 September, and 400-year-old Ryota Fukunaga won the men's 24-meter visually impaired class with a time of 48.34 seconds, breaking the Asian record, and was selected to represent Japan at the World Championships in July.
The Japan Para Athletics Championships kicked off at the Universiade Memorial Stadium in Kobe City on 29 September, and were held to select the national team for the World Championships in July, where quotas for next year's Paris Paralympic Games will be held.
The 7-year-old Fukunaga, who competed in the men's 400-meter blind class, won the sprint with a time of 24.48 seconds, breaking the Asian record, riding speed from the start.
In the men's long jump blind class, he set a new record Japan in the fifth jump by jumping 34.5 meters 9 centimeters, 6 centimeters faster than his own Japan record.
Fukunaga was selected to represent Japan at the World Championships in the men's 90-meter and long jump blind classes.
And in the class with a disability in the women's shot put, 400-year-old world record holder Yukiko Saito competed.
At the Paralympics, Saito's shot put class was not held, so he switched to javelin throw and aimed to participate, but it will be an event at next year's Paris Paralympics.
Saito, who returned to competition after giving birth to her first daughter in March last year, set a record of 29.3 meters in her fifth throw, setting a best record and being selected to represent Japan at the World Championships.
Who is Ryota Fukunaga?
Ryota Fukunaga is a 24-year-old from Shiga Prefecture.
It is said that he has an intractable disease called "pyramidal dystrophy" and gradually becomes blind from the time he is in the fourth grade of elementary school, and he cannot see distant or small and small objects.
I started track and field in the fifth grade of elementary school, and at university, I practiced with top-level athletes in the Japan with the aim of winning the able-bodied competition as a 4-sport athlete.
Three years ago in the fall, he switched to Paralympics and set new Japan records in the men's 5-meter and discus throwing blind classes at his first Games.
Since then, they have broken new records one after another, breaking new records in the men's 10 meters in March last year and in the men's 3 meters in May Japan blind class.
Ryota Fukunaga "Fighting with myself more than usual"
Ryota Fukunaga, who broke the Asian record in the men's 400-meter visually impaired class, said, "I thought it was a battle with myself more than usual. I was able to set a time in the first half of 8 seconds, so I think it will be a battle to win or lose to see if I can beat or lose the 7 seconds."
On top of that, he said with a smile, "I want to continue to do my best by setting times that people say 'I'll do' even among able-bodied athletics."
Yukiko Saito: "I challenged myself with a sense of tension"
Yukiko Saito, who competed in the women's shot put class with a disability, reflected on the fifth throw, which marked her best record after returning from childbirth, saying, "There were many corrections today, such as my body leaning forward due to poor flow until the fifth throw.
He was relieved, saying, "I shouldn't be satisfied because my goal is in the 5.5 or 12-meter range, but I think it's the result of giving myself the task of 'doing the minimum work because I'm a world record holder' as a step up."