Hideki Uda became the first Japanese to reach the podium in the Paralympic triathlon on Saturday when he took the silver medal in the men's PTS4 category -- for moderate impairment -- with an overall time of 1 hour 3 minutes 45 seconds.
Making his first Paralympic appearance, Uda was eighth in the 750-meter swim portion, clocking 12:52, and worked his way up to third in the 20-kilomter cycling section, in which he excels.
Uda moved into second over the latter stretch of the 5-kilometer run by passing Spain's Alejandro Sanchez Palomero, who claimed bronze.
France's Alexis Hanquinquant won the race in 59:58.
The 34-year-old from Koka, Shiga Prefecture, Uda lost his right arm in a workplace accident in 2013. He made his triathlon debut in 2015 and won in the title at Asian championships that same year. He has subsequently made a number of podium finishes in international races.
Yoneoka earns bronze medal
Meanwhile, Satoru Yoneoka took the bronze medal in men's PTVI category for the visually impaired in 1:02:20.
Yoneoka was second after the swimming section at 11:49, but had dropped to fourth by the end of the cycling portion. However, he passed one competitor in the 5-kilometer run section, his best part of the event, and captured bronze.
Brad Snyder of the United States won the gold in 1:01:16.
A native of the village of Kiyokawa in Kanagawa Prefecture, the 35-year-old Yoneoka lost his vision at 25 after having developed retinal detachments at 10.
He made his triathlon debut in 2013 and won the title at the Asian championships in April.
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