The Brazilian visually impaired judo team held a training camp in Hirosaki City. They also conducted joint practice sessions with the Japanese team.
Amidst nationwide fervor for hosting pre-Olympic training camps for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, Brazil's visually impaired judo team held an intensive training camp in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, from July 10th to 25th.
Hirosaki City is the team's pre-Tokyo Paralympics training camp location, and this was their second intensive training camp there following the one in 2017.
During the camp, they held a forum and conducted joint training sessions with Japan's visually impaired team.
This series of events is also part of the "TOKYO 2020 Support Program" promoted by the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee.
The visiting members included eight athletes and two coaches, led by legend Antonio Tenorio, who holds the record for the most medals in Paralympic judo history.
Their primary training partners were the Hirosaki University Judo Club, a local powerhouse. Under the guidance of Coach Takahashi, able-bodied and disabled athletes trained together, completing identical practice routines.
Warm exchanges were seen between local students and team members, with students communicating in Portuguese and the Brazilian team in Japanese.
On July 13th, during a meeting with Hirosaki City Mayor Hiroshi Sakurada, Jose Antonio, President of the Brazilian Blind Sports Federation, stated, "After last year's training camp in Hirosaki, we achieved excellent results in the subsequent competitions. This was the outcome of the Hirosaki training camp, and we are deeply grateful for the outstanding support."
On the 14th, to commemorate the training camp and promote public understanding of Para-judo while aiming for a universal society, the "Hirosaki Para-Judo Forum" was held at the Hirosaki Plaza Hotel.
The event featured a keynote speech by Yusuke Hatsuse, a director of the Japan Judo Federation for the Visually Impaired and a Paralympian, followed by a panel discussion with medalists Yoshikazu Matsumoto and Tenorio, who are aiming for the Tokyo Games.
On the 20th, the Japanese National Blind Judo Team joined the camp, conducting a joint training session with the Brazilian team and the Hirosaki University Judo Club.
On the 21st, the "Condé Koma Memorial Joint Open Practice Session" was held at the Aomori Prefectural Budokan, honoring the legendary Hirosaki-born judoka Mitsuyo Maeda, who introduced judo to Brazil and was known as Condé Koma (Count Koma). Children attending local judo classes participated in the program, gaining firsthand experience of the world-class level.
Serious practice sessions between the national teams and Hirosaki University were also open to the public, aiming to foster interest in Para-judo.
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