(born 16 August 1963) is a professional Japanese wheelchair

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

athlete from Suzuka, Mie,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and a former entrepreneur.

Biography

*1998 During a business trip, he fell down and was diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

. During his first treatment, he placed the order for a racing wheelchair by mistake. This mistake triggered him to start competing. *2002 He founded a non-profit organization, "Gold Athlete" to support athletes of disabled sports. *2004 Attended the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

, in Athens *2005 Became a professional athlete. He was enlisted to the Hall of Fame at The Museum of Marathon in Greece. He was the first Paralympic athlete to be enlisted. *2008 won two gold medals at

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. He also marked the world record at Men's T52 800m round 1."Athlete Biography - Ito Tomoya"
, ''The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games'', September 16, 2008 Biography References * * *Mie TV "Tottemo Waku-doki" on 6, October, 2008 *Cable Net Suzuka "Ito Tomoya Beijing Paralympic Special Program" in Oct 2008

Records

*400m T52 57.25 Japan National Record *800m T52 1:52.31 World Record *Marathon T52 1:52:36 As of December 2008"Ito Tomoya Profile"
''Tomoya Ito Official Web Site'', December 25, 2008

References

External links

Tomoya Ito Official Web Site
Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics 1963 births Paralympic athletes for Japan Paralympic gold medalists for Japan Sportspeople from Mie Prefecture Living people World record holders in para-athletics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paralympic silver medalists for Japan People with multiple sclerosis Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics {{Japan-Paralympic-medalist-stub