KOFU -- Despite being partially paralyzed due to illness last year, 88-year-old professional skier and alpinist Yuichiro Miura walked Sunday with steady steps as an Olympic torchbearer along the Mt. Fuji leg of the route in Yamanashi Prefecture.
"I'm honored to have brought the torch to Mt. Fuji," Miura said after finishing the section covering the distance from the bus stop at the mountain's fifth station to an observation deck.
"Have you ever skied on Mt. Fuji?" The question was put to Miura while he was participating in professional ski competitions in the United States, and the query motivated him to begin climbing Mt. Fuji. In 1966, Miura successfully skied down Japan's tallest mountain.
Miura set the world speed skiing record in 1964 and has skied down from the highest peaks on seven continents. He also climbed Mt. Everest (8,848 meters) three times when he was 70, 75 and 80 years old.
Despite his many achievements, Miura has never competed at the Olympics, as he was stripped of his amateur status after a dispute over the selection of the representatives for the All Japan Ski Championships from Aomori Prefecture, from which Miura hails.
However, Miura had always dreamed of participating in the Olympics, and around January last year he received an offer to join the torch relay.
"The torch will be seen around the world from Mt. Fuji," Miura said. "It's a big role."
On June 3 last year, Miura experienced paralysis in his arms and legs. The octogenarian was diagnosed with a rare disease in which a blood tumor developed on the back of his neck that was compressing his spinal cord. Miura underwent emergency surgery that day and was hospitalized for eight months.
His wish was "to be able to walk before the torch relay" began. Fortunately, the postponement of the Tokyo Games gave Miura an extra year to recuperate. After being discharged from the hospital, Miura did rehabilitation every day and practiced walking on gentle slopes from around May. Setting a goal was the impetus for him to keep striving.
On Sunday, with a trekking pole in his left hand and grabbing the torch with his right hand along with his second son Gota, 51, Miura hoisted the Olympic flame in the air.
"I was nervous, but I could walk more than I thought," the accomplished iron man said with a soft smile. "I'm relieved."
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