Keiko Sugiura won the C1-3 women’s road cycling event at the Tokyo Paralympic Games on Tuesday, becoming Japan’s oldest gold medalist at the age of 50.
Sugiura clocked 25: 55.76 at Fuji International Speedway to win and rewrite the age record held by Takeo Ushikubo, who was 46 when he won the 71 kg judo circuit at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
She also became the first Japanese passenger to win gold at the Paralympic Games and the fourth overall.
“I could have put into practice the plan I had before the race,” Sugiura said. “I was not nervous and I was able to run without losing concentration.” “(But) my pace slowed down (in the second half of the race) and I thought maybe not.”
Japan’s Keiko Sugiura competes in the women’s C1-3 road bike event at the Tokyo Paralympic Games on August 31, 2021, on the Fuji International Highway in Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan. (kyudo) == kyudo
Sweden’s Anna Beck won silver with a time of 26: 18.03, and Australian Paige Jericho won bronze with a time of 26: 37.54.
Sugiura suffers from right-sided paralysis and memory impairment after falling off a bicycle race when he was 45 years old.
The Shizuoka prefecture native continued cycling as part of her rehabilitation and won road time trial gold at the 2017 World Championships before taking silver in both the road time trial and the road race at the Championship. 2019 World Cup.
“I’m very glad I didn’t quit,” she said. “The people around me have supported me to continue with this sport. I will probably give speeches everywhere on how to win a gold medal at my age. “
Sugiura will show his second Paralympic gold medal in the road race on Friday.
Japan’s Keiko Sugiura (left) and Sweden’s Anna Beck congratulate each other after competing in the women’s C1-3 road cycling event at the Tokyo Paralympic Games on August 31, 2021, on the Fuji International Highway in prefecture of Shizuoka, in central Japan. Sugiura and Beck ranked first and second, respectively. (kyudo) == kyudo
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