is a Paralympic

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

from Japan, competing in category T44 sprint and long jump events. She was born in Ōsaka, Ōsaka Prefecture, and played soft tennis competitively. In 2006 while working at a paint factory she was struck by a 5-tonne steel frame. Her right lower leg was amputated below the knee. After finding the transition back to tennis difficult she was encouraged to switch to track and field and quickly found success, setting Japanese records in the F44 category for the 100 and 200 meter events shortly after. Nakanishi competed in the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

in Beijing, China, where she placed 4th in the women's 200 m F44 event, and finished sixth in the women's 100 metres. Due to lack of funds, Nakanishi was unable to participate in the

2011 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from January 21 to 30, 2011. Athletes with a disability competed, and the Championships was a qualifying event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Ove1000 athlet ...

in Christchurch, New Zealand. Japanese government support for Paralympic athletes is limited, and while training for the London Olympics in 2012 she found it difficult to raise enough funds to compete and to purchase a new prosthetic leg. She published a calendar in which she appears semi-nude with her prosthetic leg, photographed by photographer Takao Ochi. The calendar sold more than 3,000 copies and raised more than US$50,000 for equipment, training and travel expenses. At the London Olympics she placed 8th in the women's long jump – F42/44 event. She also competed in the women's 100 m and 200 m events but failed to qualify for the finals. On 7 September 2014 Nakanishi won the T44 long jump at the , setting a personal record at 5.33 m. The

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and fun ...

recognized this as a Japanese record. In December 2014 sports writer published a biography of Nakanishi titled ''Last One'' ().

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakanishi, Maya Paralympic athletes for Japan Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Living people 1985 births Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Japanese female long jumpers 21st-century Japanese women