TOKYO – Japan is sending a record number of athletes to the Paralympics aiming not only for gold medals but also to build a more inclusive society, according to top team official Miki Matheson.
A gold medallist herself at the 1998 Winter Paralympics in Nagano, Matheson serves as one of three deputy chiefs of the Japan team and has high hopes for the Tokyo Games.
“The success of the Paralympics is not just whether athletes hit the mark or win a lot of medals,” the sportswoman told AFP in an interview.
“The Paralympics won’t succeed if we can’t feel that (people with disabilities) can go out more comfortably and that people around them can change their way of thinking because of the Paralympics,” she added.
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