NAGOYA - Wheelchair racer Tomoki Sato led a Japanese podium sweep in the men's 100-meter T51/T52 final Wednesday at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games before paying tribute to former teammate Hirokazu Ueyonabaru, who died last month after being injured in a road accident.
Sato clocked a games-record 17.25 seconds to win the six-man race at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, with compatriots Yuki Oya and Tomoya Ito second and third, respectively.
The three men competed in the T52 category for wheelchair racers with limited hand and finger function.
"I would have liked to break my personal best," three-time Paralympian Sato said. "Despite losing some ground in the first part of the race, I think it was encouraging that I was still able to finish in the low 17-second range."
The race came less than a month after the death of Ueyonabaru, a silver medalist at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and a two-time bronze medalist at the Tokyo Games, who was hit by a car while training in his home prefecture of Okinawa.
Sato, who won two gold medals at the Tokyo Paralympics, struggled to compose himself following the death of his longtime teammate.
"I believe the best thing I can do is keep racing and dedicate the rest of my career to racing for Mr. Ueyonabaru as well," the 37-year-old said.
Sato began using a wheelchair after being diagnosed with myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord that causes nerve damage, in 2010. Inspired by watching the London Paralympics two years later, he took up wheelchair racing and rapidly rose through the ranks in the men's T52 class.
After winning his first world title in the 400 meters in 2015, he claimed silver medals in the 400 and 1,500 at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics in 2016. He then captured gold medals in the 400 and 1,500 at the Tokyo Paralympics, before winning silver in the 400 and bronze in the 100 at the Paris Games.
Recalling Ueyonabaru's encouragement, Sato said, "He told me to regain a gold medal at the Paralympics, and I have been determined to fulfill that expectation."
