Keiichi Kimura won his long-sought first Paralympic gold in the men's 100-meter butterfly in the S11 category for those with visual impairments at the Tokyo Paralympic Games on Friday.
Kimura, 30, came in at 1 minute 2.57 seconds and Uchu Tomita earned silver at 1:03.59 in his debut Paralympics -- giving Japan a one-two finish at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
The gold was Kimura's second medal after securing silver in the 100 breaststroke S11 at the Tokyo Games, and his eighth Paralympic medal overall. For Tomita, it was his third time on the podium at the Tokyo Paralympics.
"I've worked so hard for this day, and I'm so happy that the day [I won a gold medal] is finally here," Kimura said, unable to hold back his tears after winning the title.
In the final, Kimura started strong and took a definitive lead after the first 50, breaking away from Tomita and the other swimmers.
"I didn't think I swam well at all, but I thought at this point, anything is fine," Kimura said.
Kimura, who lost his eyesight at the age of 2 because of a congenital disease, was considered a favorite to win in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics but ended up with two silver and two bronze medals.
Those around him congratulated him on his wins, but he thought anything other than gold "was meaningless." His confidence was shattered.
However, he was able to regain some of his confidence after training abroad.
In spring 2018, he moved to the United States by himself because he didn't think that he could improve any more in Japan.
He trained hard while attending a language school. In the beginning, he could not speak or understand English, so he could not understand his coach's instructions. At times, he would exert all of his energy and swim as hard as he could.
"Even if my surroundings weren't perfect, I thought I could improve if I dedicated 120% of my energy to swimming, rather than swimming half-heartedly in Japan," he said.
Kimura built his confidence back up through the experience of training in the United States for two years, before returning to Japan due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As he was aware of how certain situations may not go his way, he chose an option that would best work for him. He decided not to compete in the 50 freestyle, an event in which he had earned silver at the Rio Paralympics, in Tokyo because he thought he might be fatigued. Rather than go for quantity, he decided to focus on winning the gold in butterfly.
Even though he can't physically see the gold medal, he wanted one so badly and thought, "I don't care if it's not in swimming, I just want one."
The weight of winning the medal finally sunk in when he heard the national anthem play during the medal ceremony.
"It was the first time that it really hit me that I won the gold and I felt like I didn't have to try and hold back my tears," he said.
As Kimura let his tears flow, the medal shined brightly hanging around his neck.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
