Hirokazu Ueyonabaru of Okinawa Prefecture crossed the finish line in third place, following Tomoki Sato and Raymond Martin of the United States in the men's 400-meter wheelchair race on Friday night.
"It's nice to give back something tangible to the people who have supported me," Ueyonabaru said after his competition.
The 50-year-old athlete, who has competed in four consecutive summer Paralympics, earned his first medal since taking silver in the wheelchair marathon at the 2008 Beijing Games, his debut at a Paralympic Games.
Since switching to track events from the marathon, Ueyonabaru has experienced long-term success, earning silver in the 1500 wheelchair race at the 2019 world championships.
Just before the Tokyo Games, Tomoya Ito, who was in the same division of impairment as Ueyonabaru and was a workout buddy at a training camp, was informed that he was not able to compete with Ueyonabaru because of being placed in a division for competitors with less-severe impairment.
Recalling the moment Ueyonabaru heard from Ito about the change, Ueyonabaru said, "I really understood how he felt. I was so shocked at first that I cried."
Ueyonabaru stood tall on the podium after earning the bronze medal with feelings of his friend Ito, who had given Ueyonabaru a smile-filled sendoff from the athletes village.
Ueyonabaru was filled with gratitude to Ito.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
