Hitachi Systems Sales Promotion Department, where Paralympic medal winner Yoshihiro Niita works, dotes on this kintaroame candy. It was made especially to commemorate Niita's win.
近況
12 years ago
Monday, May 24, 2010
Candy commemorates para-medal at Vancouver
Hitachi Systems Sales Promotion Department, where Paralympic medal winner Yoshihiro Niita works, dotes on this kintaroame candy. It was made especially to commemorate Niita's win.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Oita International Wheelchair Marathon set
The 30th annual running of the Oita International Wheelchair Marathon is now set for November 14, 2010. The full marathon will start at 11:00 a.m. Look here for more details.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Chiba Hawks lose WCB championship game
Shucks.
I got to the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium just before 2 p.m. The two teams were already on the floor -- The Miyagi Max and the Chiba Hawks. Being from Chiba, I naturally wanted to see the Hawks win.
Introductions were taking place, and the players wheeled themselves between lines of cheerleaders. These are top-notch athletes. I was surprised to see that 11 of 14 players on the Hawks team were in wheelchairs because of traffic accidents. Amazing. About half the Max team were also traffic accident victims.
Hundreds of fans were on hand to watch the game. These are not people who came because of sympathy for people in wheelchairs. They came to watch high-level basketball. And they were not disappointed.
Notice the extra wheels in the open space near the bottom of the photo. This is intense action. Players end up on their backs more than once. And during the game, in the second half, a player had to call on those extra wheels because one of his got bent. One more thing. When a player goes down, the game goes on. The player gets back on his wheels by himself. For some, that's not an easy task.
For the first time, Japan's National Wheelchair Basketball Championships final game was broadcast live on Sky Perfect satellite TV. Again, not because of the disadvantages the players overcame, but because this game represented the very best of sports and sportsmanship in Japan.
First half action was hot and heavy, but the MAX clearly outclassed the Hawks (to my eyes anyway). Player No. 13 on the MAX team was like Kobe Bryant. He scored more than 30 points in the game. Fujimoto is his name, and I can't help but think he'll be a mainstay center for the Japan National Team. He's a big guy with long arms, and once he gets the ball in the key, there's no stopping him.
Halftime saw the Hawks down by 13 points, 35-22. The team huddled at the edge of the courts for a conference with Head Coach Tetsuhiro Kikuchi.
The cheerleaders put on an acrobatic halftime show, but everyone had their eyes on the two teams. What would the second half bring? Could the Hawks hold Fujimoto down? Could they up their percentage from the field?
The Hawks gave it their all. The team played its heart out. They tried this strategy and that, but nothing seemed to work. The MAX had a great fast break that earned them basket after basket, and Fujimoto just kept on scoring from the post. When the final whistle blue, the MAX had won, 76-46.
My Chiba Hawks were runners-up. But they and their rival Miyagi MAX had shown me 80 minutes of top-flight basketball. They deserved the applause that the crowd gave them. Just wait. Next year the Hawks will be back!!
I got to the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium just before 2 p.m. The two teams were already on the floor -- The Miyagi Max and the Chiba Hawks. Being from Chiba, I naturally wanted to see the Hawks win.
Introductions were taking place, and the players wheeled themselves between lines of cheerleaders. These are top-notch athletes. I was surprised to see that 11 of 14 players on the Hawks team were in wheelchairs because of traffic accidents. Amazing. About half the Max team were also traffic accident victims.
Hundreds of fans were on hand to watch the game. These are not people who came because of sympathy for people in wheelchairs. They came to watch high-level basketball. And they were not disappointed.
Notice the extra wheels in the open space near the bottom of the photo. This is intense action. Players end up on their backs more than once. And during the game, in the second half, a player had to call on those extra wheels because one of his got bent. One more thing. When a player goes down, the game goes on. The player gets back on his wheels by himself. For some, that's not an easy task.
For the first time, Japan's National Wheelchair Basketball Championships final game was broadcast live on Sky Perfect satellite TV. Again, not because of the disadvantages the players overcame, but because this game represented the very best of sports and sportsmanship in Japan.
First half action was hot and heavy, but the MAX clearly outclassed the Hawks (to my eyes anyway). Player No. 13 on the MAX team was like Kobe Bryant. He scored more than 30 points in the game. Fujimoto is his name, and I can't help but think he'll be a mainstay center for the Japan National Team. He's a big guy with long arms, and once he gets the ball in the key, there's no stopping him.
Halftime saw the Hawks down by 13 points, 35-22. The team huddled at the edge of the courts for a conference with Head Coach Tetsuhiro Kikuchi.
The cheerleaders put on an acrobatic halftime show, but everyone had their eyes on the two teams. What would the second half bring? Could the Hawks hold Fujimoto down? Could they up their percentage from the field?
The Hawks gave it their all. The team played its heart out. They tried this strategy and that, but nothing seemed to work. The MAX had a great fast break that earned them basket after basket, and Fujimoto just kept on scoring from the post. When the final whistle blue, the MAX had won, 76-46.
My Chiba Hawks were runners-up. But they and their rival Miyagi MAX had shown me 80 minutes of top-flight basketball. They deserved the applause that the crowd gave them. Just wait. Next year the Hawks will be back!!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Wheelchair basketball nationals
I'm going to the Japan Wheelchair Basketball National Championships tomorrow. Will report on and photograph the championship game. If we're lucky, the Chiba Hawks will be in that game. More tomorrow.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Tsuchida wins London marathon
Wakako Tsuchida not only won the London wheelchair marathon, she also won the Boston wheelchair marathon last week. No other athlete has accomplished that. Check out her win on Youtube here.
Monday, April 12, 2010
The art of para-sports photography
If you want a taste of the tremendous effort and talent and just plain guts that the paralympic athletes give to their sports, click on this button!!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Photos from Vancouver Biathlon
Biathlon!Parateam Japan has put these photos up on the web. Have a look at tremendous athletes in action.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Sushi platter feats ice sledge hockey team
The rolls feature red tuna and chutoro tuna wrapped in rice and salmon. Caviar makes a nice puck, and celery carved into hockey sticks top out the plate. Available in Vancouver at Kamei Royal, 1030 Georgia Street, Vancouver. Available from March 24. Thanks guys for saluting the silver medalists!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Ota gains silver on the final day
The skier's blog tells us that Shoko Ota earned a silver medal in the 1km sprint. She got bronze at Torino but stepped up to silver at Vancouver. Well done. Congrats to the Hitachi Ski Club. Information from the Hitachi System Ski Blog http://www.skiblog.jp/archives/2010/03/post_912.html.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Photos of the ice sledge hockey medal awards and action shots
I got up early in the morning to watch these modern day samurai take on the American powerhouse. Japan's team did a credible job against the more experienced Americans, but their biggest kudo was beating the Canadian team on its home turf. The Japanese team can bear their silver medals home with tremendous pride.
Japan alpine skiers get silver and bronze
NPO STAND's collaboration site with Seijun Ninomiya had this photo of the alpine skiers medal ceremony. Silver medal to Hiroki Morii, Bronze medal to Toru Karino. Sorry if I get the names wrong, there are so many ways to read Japanese names. See the original photo on this site.
Ice Sledge Hockey Finals on NHK
Freelance writer Miharu Araki is a big ice sledge hockey fan. She says NHK will broadcast the ice sledge hockey finals between Japan and USA here in Japan live. That puts the time at 3:45 a.m. on Sunday March 21. Can't decide whether to go to sleep and get up or just stay up all night. Time will tell. Fantastic job by the ice sledge team! They can hold their heads high, win or lose.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Japan beats Switzerland
Japan's wheelchair curling team garnered its second win by taking Switzerland.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Day off for Japanese ice sledge hockey team
The team showed up at the wheelchair curling venue to provide support for the Japanese contingent.
Oginata takes bronze
Twitter at http://twitter.com/navagraha_ tells us that alpine skier Kuniko Oginata took a bronze in her sport.
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