In the Tokyo Paralympics, two Japanese long-distance runners with vision impairments have won silver and bronze medals in a men’s 5,000-meter event.
The games’ track and field events kicked off on Friday.
Karasawa Kenya won silver and Wada Shinya got the bronze in the men’s T11 5,000-meter final, becoming the first Japanese track and field athletes to win medals at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Each competitor is tied with a rope to a sighted guide.
Karasawa took the lead at one point in the race, but was overtaken by Yeltsin Jacques of Brazil less than 200 meters from the goal.
Jacques won the gold with a time of 15 minutes, 13.62 seconds. Karasawa clocked 15 minutes, 18.12 seconds and Wada finished in 15 minutes, 21.03 seconds.
Karasawa told reporters he is happy he won the silver thanks to the cooperation of his team members. He said he was able to run aggressively with encouragement from his guide.
Karasawa, who is 27 years old, won a bronze medal in the world championships in 2019. Wada was a bronze medalist at the 2012 London Paralympics.
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