Paris 2024: Japan’s wheelchair rugby team gets fairytale ending in Paris

After the final whistle, Japanese wheelchair rugby players huddled on the court and held each other’s hands. That was the moment Japan won their maiden wheelchair rugby gold medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, three years after finishing with a “disappointing” bronze at a home Games in Tokyo.  

At the centre of the circle, captain Yukinobu Ike said, “When we finished with bronze in Tokyo, I said we would celebrate our opponent, and we will come back even stronger together to win gold. We accomplished that dream together today.” 

In the final at the Champ-de-Mars Arena, Japan defeated the USA 48-41 in front of an energetic crowd. Katsuya Hashimoto, one of the youngest members of the team, led the scoreboard with 19 tries, with Ike crossing the line 16 times.  

The USA were leading by three tries after the first period, but Hashimoto scored in the last second of the second to give Japan a one-try lead. From there, Japan never looked back. They continued to gain momentum in the final period, during which they scored 13 tries. 

Dedicating the gold medal  

It was a dream come true for the Japanese team.  

Ike said, “The moment I got the gold medal, everything I had gone through in the past, I did not regret anything. I thought everything I had gone through, they were all wonderful and great. 

“I was able to play at the best place, perform at the best, and achieve the best results. It was the best moment that an athlete can ever ask for.” 

After getting his medal on the podium, he held it toward the sky. Ike said it was a way of dedicating it to his friends, who passed away in an accident when he was 19 years old, which resulted in the amputation of his left leg.   

“I wanted to say thank you. There were many times when I felt like a miracle was happening, and I thought maybe my friends were supporting me. There were many times during these Games that I felt this.”  

“Throughout these Games, I was thinking that miracles can happen, and that you can make a miracle happen if you work hard.”  

Path to history  

There were ups and downs in the journey to the top of the podium, says Daisuke Ikezaki, who was competing in his fourth Paralympic Games.  

“Everything – all the hardships, the hard training – were all worth it.”

Japan won bronze at Rio 2016. But three years ago, Japan went into the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic tournament as one of the gold medal favourites, having won the World Championships in 2018. But they were knocked out in the semifinals.  

“We made wheelchair rugby history in Rio by winning our first Paralympic medal. From there, we tried to grow the popularity of the sport while preparing for our home Games. We wanted to achieve the best results especially for people struggling with Covid. We weren’t able to do that in the end and felt disappointed. 

“From there, we were able to finally turn another page in wheelchair rugby history. We can’t ask for more – this is the best result,” Ikezaki said. “I wanted to prove that everything we have done was correct and we didn’t make any mistakes. That’s why it led to great results."

Proud of the team  

The USA were seeking their third wheelchair rugby gold – and the first since Beijing 2008 -  but took silver for the third straight Games.  

Co-captain Chuck Aoki and Sarah Adam led the scoring for the USA with 14 tries each.  

“It means the team accomplished something really impressive. It took a lot of work to get here, a lot of ups and downs over the last three years,” Aoki said. “It’s obviously disappointing. We set our sights and goals on gold. But I’m always proud of this team, and I’m always proud to be part of it as well.”  

“It’s not the result we wanted, but I’m proud of it.”  

Five female athletes on the podium  

With Australia taking bronze, there were five female athletes on the wheelchair rugby podium. Japan’s Kae Kurahashi became only the second woman to win wheelchair rugby gold after Great Britain’s Kylie Grimes at Tokyo 2020.   

“I had so much fun playing today. I was able to have so much fun even without telling myself to have fun. It was amazing how we were able to show everything we’ve worked on,” Kurahashi said.   

In Paris, Adam became the first-ever female wheelchair rugby player to compete for the USA at a Paralympics. Ella Sabljak, Emilie Miller and Shae Graham represented Australia. 

“After the match, Sarah (Adam) came to congratulate me. I was only able to say ‘thank you’ but it was nice. In Japan we still don’t have so many female players, so I hope (by winning gold here) more people will get to know about the sport and think they want to try it out.”  

With a big smile on her face, Kurahashi says she wants to do it all over again. 

“Above all, it was so fun to be able to be on court and play here,” Kurahashi said. “It was such a fun five days of competition. I’m going to miss this. I want to do this all over again.”