Sochi Paralympics Open! Japanese Athletes Win Medals on Opening Day

 

Paralympian Manami Sato also participates in the torch relay

 

The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games opened on March 7. Over the 10-day event, approximately 550 athletes from a record 45 countries and regions will compete fiercely across 5 sports and 72 events, including alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and biathlon. The Japan Paralympic Committee (JPC) dispatched a delegation of 55 members, including 20 athletes, aiming for a total of 10 or more medals. The delegation leader is Masanobu Araki, Director of the Japan Sports Association for the Disabled. Captain is Taiki Morii (Alpine Skiing), and Flag Bearer is Wako Ota (Cross-Country Skiing, Biathlon).

The opening ceremony at Fisht Olympic Stadium was attended by President Putin and others. From the Japanese government, Deputy Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Yoshitaka Sakurada attended. Over 1,300 performers put on various shows to celebrate the start of the Games. The Olympic flame, relayed across Russia for about 10 days, was relit at the Olympic Park cauldron, and numerous fireworks lit up the night sky. NHK General TV broadcast the opening ceremony live for the first time on terrestrial TV. During the Games, it will air daily 30-minute digest programs on both General TV and E-TV. Additionally, SKY Perfect JSAT will launch Japan's first "24-hour Paralympic dedicated channel," providing over 200 hours of continuous coverage, including 60 hours of live broadcasts. Interest in the Paralympics has grown since Tokyo was selected to host the 2020 Games.

Kano (Super-G)	Kano (center) and Morii (left)	Kubo (Biathlon)

 

On the 8th, in the men's downhill sitting event, Ryo Kano won the gold medal and Takeshi Suzuki won the bronze medal. In the men's 7.5km sitting biathlon, Kozo Kubo won the bronze medal. On the 9th, in the men's super-G sitting event, Kano won gold and Morii won silver, giving Japan an outstanding start with five medals in just two days.
(Photo: Fort Kishimoto)