Tomoya Ito, 63, becomes oldest Japanese male gold medallist at Asian Para Games

NAGOYA – Tomoya Ito, 63, became the oldest Japanese male gold medallist at the Asian Para Games after winning a wheelchair race in the men’s 200m T51/T52 event at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games on Oct 23.

The gold is Ito’s third medal at the 2026 Games, following bronze in the 100m and silver in the 400m.

In the 200m final at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Ito, from Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, started in lane 4 and overtook his opponents on the outside one after another while going through the bend and entered the home stretch in the lead.

He held off a fierce challenge from South Korea’s silver medallist Jeong Jong-dae, keeping ahead by about 0.7 seconds, and finished with a new Asian Para Games record of 32.07 seconds.

He also broke the Japanese record for the oldest male to win gold at the Asian Para Games, previously held by a 53-year-old.

In the 400m race on Oct 22, he injured his rotator cuff at the start, and a doctor recommended he not compete on Oct 23. Nevertheless, he pushed through for his final race of the Games. After crossing the finish line, Ito spoke about his long-time rival, Hirokazu Ueyonabaru, who died in September at 55.

“I feel like he was pulling me along today. This colour is the best, so I’m sure he’d be happy,” Ito said with deep emotion.

Ueyonabaru died on Sept 26 after being struck from behind by a car while practising on a public road in Okinawa Prefecture. The two had been friends for about 20 years. THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK