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TOYOTA and WOWOW are hosting a Paralympic sports event.
Toyota Motor Corporation and WOWOW held the para-sports event "IMPOSSIBLE CHALLENGE FIELD" at Tokyo Midtown in Minato Ward on November 25.
To make para sports feel more accessible and convey their appeal and enjoyment, the event offered various content including demonstrations by world-class athletes and hands-on attractions. It was bustling with many interested visitors.
Toyota Motor Corporation is the Mobility Partner for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In October, it launched the global corporate challenge "Start Your Impossible." Driven by the desire to see "mobility" not as an obstacle to overcome, but as a possibility for fulfilling dreams, Toyota is actively considering providing mobility solutions beyond just automobiles in the narrow sense. This represents the direction of the company's new challenge, embodying its vision of "mobility for all." http://toyota.jp/syi/
Meanwhile, WOWOW began broadcasting the Paralympic documentary series "WHO I AM" in 2016 to commemorate its 25th anniversary. This joint project with the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) is a sports documentary series that will follow the world's top Paralympic athletes over five years, leading up to the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020. Season 2 began airing on October 29. http://www.wowow.co.jp/sports/whoiam/
For the boccia demonstration, Rio Paralympics silver medalist Hidetaka Sugimura appeared as a guest. He thrilled the audience by demonstrating an extremely difficult technique: placing a ball on top of a densely packed cluster of balls.
During mock games with wheelchair athlete Tomoki Suzuki, 2017 Deaflympics discus silver medalist Goki Yugami, former figure skater Takahiko Kozuka, and AKB48 Team 8 members Rin Okabe, Nanami Yamada, and Miu Shimoo, he repeatedly displayed the high-level skills only a medalist possesses. He shared his future aspirations: "There are incredibly strong players in the world. Since I lack raw power, I want to play by skillfully building tactics to win."
Boccia related article: https://dentsu-ho.com/articles/5637
At the Wheelchair Basketball Academy, Patrick Anderson, a three-time Paralympic gold medalist representing Canada and known as a "legend in the world of wheelchair basketball," was invited to play with participating university students. The students were confused by the unfamiliar wheelchairs, but they couldn't hide their surprise at seeing the world's best techniques up close.
Anderson is scheduled to appear in the third episode of the "WHO I AM" series, which will be broadcast in 2018.
Shinji Negi, who captained the Japanese wheelchair basketball team at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics and has played against Anderson, commented, "He is an idol for wheelchair basketball players around the world. When I was still playing, he was a fantastic player who I wanted to beat but couldn't." Anderson responded with a smile, saying, "I'm glad to hear that. I remember our battles back then."
Anderson showed his passion and intensity in a one-on-one match against Takuya Furusawa, leader of the Japanese national wheelchair basketball team, and Renji Toriumi, a member of the Rio Paralympic team, even falling to the floor during the game. In the subsequent two-on-two match, Anderson teamed up with Negi to face the young team of Furusawa and Toriumi. Although the score was close, Anderson and Negi won, demonstrating their experience and superior skill.
Anderson, sweating profusely, said with a wry smile, "I want to point out that the combined ages of these two (Furusawa and Toriumi) add up to my age," but added, "I'm really looking forward to seeing these young athletes compete in the Tokyo Paralympics."
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