At 51, para swimmer Mayumi Narita resolutely finished her sixth and last Paralympic Games on Monday.
"I have fond memories from the Games each time, but this time it will really be my last Paralympic appearance. I hope many Japanese people will watch me swim," Narita said ahead of the Games.
Narita, who is paralyzed below the waist, took part in three events. She was not in contention for a medal in any of them, but she successfully finished the women's 50-meter backstroke in less than 48 seconds for the first time in two years, reducing her time in the preliminaries by nearly 2 seconds.
"I think it was a great ending," she said.
She competed in four consecutive Paralympic Games starting from the 1996 Games in Atlanta and collected 20 medals over that span. She retired after the Beijing Paralympics in 2008. But after becoming involved in Tokyo's bid to host the 2020 Games, she decided to return to competition.
Known for practicing very hard, Narita has become the face of Japan's Paralympians and has valiantly dealt with aging and injuries. It appeared that nothing could stop her on the road to the Tokyo Games -- until the novel coronavirus pandemic forced its postponement.
"I was planning to retire after the Tokyo Games. So I couldn't help thinking, 'Do I have to keep going with the hard practice for another year?'" she recalled.
She found the mental strength to go on thanks to the people around her who had always supported her throughout her years of competitive swimming. After her last swim at the Games on Monday, her expressions of gratitude continued to flow.
"I've been able to swim for 27 years because I was blessed with the environment around me," she said.
When she started competitive swimming, there were few facilities that accepted para swimmers.
"Yokohama Sakura [Swimming School] was kind enough to accept me back then," she said.
Para-swimming instructors are hard to come by, but "I was lucky to meet the coach Toshio Fukumoto as well as my current coach, Masayuki Horikoshi," she said.
Narita's parents and friends were always there to help her as well.
"My life in competitive swimming has been much better than I thought it would be. I am very happy," she said.
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