NAGOYA - Six-time Paralympian swimmer Takayuki Suzuki was relieved after winning gold in the men's 50-meter freestyle S4 final at the home Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games on Monday.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old debutant Ryuga Yamada was satisfied after setting a personal best despite finishing seventh in the men's 200m individual medley SM6 final.
Suzuki and Yamada competed in classes for athletes with physical impairments. In Para swimming, a lower class number generally indicates a more severe degree of activity limitation.
The 39-year-old Suzuki clocked 38.17 seconds to win in Nagoya, ahead of South Korea's Jo Gi Seong in second and Myanmar's Nyi Nyi Lin Htet in third.
"My time in the heats was pretty good, and I was hoping to improve on it in the final. I'm glad that I was able to improve my time," Suzuki said.
Suzuki, who has won three Paralympic gold medals, said the home race offered a blend of a familiar atmosphere and the tension of international competition.
"It almost feels like a domestic meet," Suzuki said, adding that the presence of overseas rivals reminded him that "it is an international competition."
A native of Shizuoka Prefecture, neighboring Aichi, Suzuki was born with congenital deficiencies in both his arms and legs. He took up swimming at the age of 6 and began competing at 15.
The swimmer made his Paralympic debut at the 2004 Athens Games while in his third year of high school. He has since been a leading figure in Japanese Para swimming.
Asked about younger Para swimmers, including Yamada, the veteran said he was "pleased" to see the next generation emerging, adding that they are indispensable to the future of Japanese Para swimming.
Yamada marked 3:11.35 in the eight-man final, where China's Yang Hong won gold.
"It's such big games and I was a bit surprised by huge cheers," Yamada said.
"There were adult swimmers competing and so many people (in the stands). I got caught up in the atmosphere and ended up swimming while feeling overwhelmed," he said.
Yamada was diagnosed with malignant lymphoma, a type of childhood cancer, at the age of 2. Damage to his spinal cord left him paralyzed in the lower body, and he has used a wheelchair since then.
He took up swimming at the age of 4 and made his international debut last year.
"I was happy to take part (in the Asian Para Games) as a junior high school student."
