Tokyo 2020: Japanese Para triathlete stars in latest campaign for Games

The Tokyo 2020 Games host nation’s very own Mami Tani stars in the latest visual campaign aimed at showcasing Paralympic athletes against backdrops of iconic landmarks and symbols of the Japanese capital.

Unveiled on Thursday, the visual of Tani is the fourth created by the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

It depicts Tani, the first Japanese world champion in Para triathlon, standing against a backdrop of the Rainbow Bridge in Odaiba, which will be the venue for triathlon events at Tokyo 2020. Apart from being a successful Para athlete, Tani was also instrumental in bringing the Games to her home country.

“Six years have passed since I gave my bid presentation and heard the announcement of ‘Tokyo’ as the winner,” she said at the Tokyo 2020 One Year To Go celerbations. “In one year from now, the city will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games. How exciting is that? 

“This area in Odaiba, from where I can view the Rainbow Bridge, is going to host the triathlon events, and is also one of my usual practice places.

“I would like to cherish this process over the next year, imagining the moment when I will be running with a lot of support and cheering from people in my hometown. I hope all of the Paralympic venues will echo with everyone’s support.”

Tokyo will become the first city to host the Paralympic Games twice. The Ticket Lottery for residents of Japan ran from 22 August to 9 September, with tickets for the biggest and most exciting Paralympic Games yet offered at affordable prices.

Seats at competitive events will be priced from just JPY 900 and will cost no more than JPY 7,000. Triathlon events will take place at Odaiba Marine Park on 29 and 30 August, and cost no more than JPY 3,000.

The fifth and final visual campaign will be unveiled at the end of September 2019, featuring another superstar of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and a must-see location of the Japanese capital.

Imagen

ⒸITU Media / Delly Carr

About Mami Tani

Born in 1982 in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, Tani began competing in track and field events while in middle school. Was a cheerleader at Waseda University in winter 2001 when she developed osteosarcoma. Had her right leg amputated below the knee and has since been using a prosthetic limb. She began training for the long jump in 2003 and competed in the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. In March 2011, her hometown Kesennuma was damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and she was unable to practice for some time. However, she did not give up her dreams and participated for the third consecutive time at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, achieving a personal record there. 

She married in 2014, gave birth to a son in 2015 and announced in 2016 that she would change her sport to triathlon. Commencing from the 2017 season, she competed at the World Series and won the World Para Triathlon Championships in September of that year. She became the first Japanese world champion in Para triathlon.