Para-swimming legend Mayumi Narita suited up for her curtain call at the hometown Tokyo Games on Thursday, competing in the women's 100-meter freestyle S5 and the mixed 4x50 freestyle relay heats, a day before her 51st birthday.
Although ninth-place finishes in both heats dashed her hopes of advancing to the finals in the events, she will still have two more chances to chase down a 16th career gold medal in what she has said will be her final Paralympics.
Dubbed the "Queen of the Water," Narita previously competed in four consecutive Paralympics, starting with Atlanta in 1996.
Although she announced her retirement following the 2008 Beijing Games, she decided to return for one last competition after being involved in Japan's bid to host the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Paralyzed from the waist down, Narita has used a wheelchair since developing myelitis at age 13 and began swimming at 23, outpacing the competition with her trademark upper-body power. But in recent years, Narita has struggled in longer events with many turns, due to her advancing age and elbow injuries.
Still, Narita said she thought Japan's team had gotten off to a swimming start at the Tokyo Games, after 14-year-old Miyuki Yamada and team captain Takayuki Suzuki won medals on the first day of competition on Wednesday, and hoped the momentum would buoy her own performance heading into her remaining two events.
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