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The Japanese Para-Athletics Championships will be held in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, this weekend, but without several of the country’s most sensitive athletes aiming to win gold at the Tokyo Paralympics next summer.
Several of the leading Japanese para-athletes have opted to skip the two-day World Athletics ranked tournament due to persistent considerations about the new coronavirus, the largest of which have a higher threat of infection and illness due to serious deficiencies.
It will be the first primary parasportive occasion in Japan after a six-month break, however, many para-athletes are reluctant to compete in the championships due to increased risk, which overshadows the delay of the Tokyo Games.
Two-time Paralympic gold medalist Tomoya Ito, a 57-year-old sclerosis player competing in wheelchair athletics, won several medals at last year’s World Para-Athletics Championships and has already been decided to be Japan at next year’s Paralympics.
But since coronavirus poses a serious threat that can lead to a serious chronic illness, Ito said he didn’t yet have a choir selection from this weekend’s event.
“I can’t go to the stadium in the face of the threat of my life,” Ito said. “There is no life” with crown “for me”.
Hirokazu Ueyonabaru, who like Ito qualified for the Tokyo Paralympics in the category of athletes with a more severe disability, also controlled the tournament after considering the dangers of traveling from its home port in Okinawa Prefecture.
Others who have announced his abstention come with Gurimu Narita, who trains in Australia and is involved in long-distance travel, and 72-year-old weight thrower Toshie Oi, who takes extra precautions after injuring his elbow in training.
The resolve not to participate in the Japanese Para-Athletics Championship was especially complicated for Narita and Oi, as the tournament would have been a good opportunity for them in their position in the Paralympic standings.
On Saturday and Sunday they will be held behind closed doors to further reduce the threat of infection to athletes. Japan’s Paratletism also thought about conducting polymer chain reaction tests in consulting brokers, but left the plan for monetary reasons.
Toshihito Mitsui, president of Japan for Athletics, which relies on non-public movements to prevent the spread of infection, said it is regrettable that athletes have not participated in the tournament and have a good reputation.
“There is a wide diversity of athletes in paradeports, adding older athletes, diabetics and those with spinal cord injuries,” Mitsui said. “I just need players to do their thing as part of what they can do. “
The Japan Times LTD. All rights are reserved.