Japan at the Paralympics

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Japan at the Paralympic Games

Flag of Japan
IPC code  JPN
NPC Japanese Paralympic Committee
Paralympic history
Summer Games
Winter Games

Absent at the inaugural Paralympic Games in 1960 in Rome, Japan made its Paralympic début by hosting the 1964 Games in Tokyo. The country has participated in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics, and in every edition of the Winter Paralympics since the first in 1976. It has hosted the Paralympic Games twice, with Tokyo hosting the 1964 Summer Games, and Nagano the 1998 Winter Paralympics.[1] Japan is represented by the Japan Paralympic Committee.

Japan was the only Asian country to compete at the 1964 Paralympics, and also the only Asian country present at the inaugural Winter Games, making it the first Asian nation to have participated in either Summer or Winter Games. It is also the second most successful Asian country overall (behind China), having won 395 Paralympic medals, of which 118 gold, 134 silver and 143 bronze. This result places it 17th on the all-time Paralympic Games medal table.[2]

Japan won only a single gold medal at the Tokyo Games (in the men's doubles, category C, in table tennis), but rapidly improved, with two gold in 1968, four in 1972, and ten in 1976, with a peak at eighteen in 2004 - though that number dropped to just five in 2008. In the Winter Games, the country emerged as a notable competitor when it hosted the Nagano Games in 1998, winning twelve gold medals - compared to none at all in previous editions.[3]

By far Japan's most successful Paralympian has been swimmer Mayumi Narita, who won fifteen gold medals for her country between 1996 and 2004, making her one of the world's most successful Paralympians of all time.[4]

Medal Tables

Medals by Summer Games

      Host country (Japan)

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank
1964 Tokyo 1 5 4 10 13
1968 Tel-Aviv 2 2 8 12 16
1972 Heidelberg 4 5 3 12 15
1976 Toronto 10 6 3 19 15
1980 Arnhem 9 10 7 26 16
1984 Stoke M.-New York 9 7 8 24 22
1988 Seoul 17 12 17 46 14
1992 Barcelona 8 7 15 30 16
1996 Atlanta 14 10 13 37 10
2000 Sydney 13 17 11 41 12
2004 Athens 17 16 20 53 10
2008 Beijing 5 14 8 27 17
2012 London 5 5 6 16 24
Total 106 112 119 337 16

Medals by Winter Games

      Host country (Japan)

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank
1976 Örnsköldsvik 0 0 0 0 10
1980 Geilo 0 0 0 0 11
1984 Innsbruck 0 0 0 0 14
1988 Innsbruck 0 0 2 2 14
1992 Tignes-Albertsville 0 0 2 2 19
1994 Lillehammer 0 3 3 6 18
1998 Nagano 12 16 13 41 4
2002 Salt Lake City 0 0 3 3 22
2006 Turin 2 5 2 9 8
2010 Vancouver 3 3 5 11 8
2014 Sochi 3 1 2 6 7
Total 20 28 32 80 11

See also

References

  1. Japan at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee
  2. Japan at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee
  3. Japan at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee
  4. Japan at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee