Keiichi Kimura (left) and Uchu Tomita hold up their gold and bronze medals respectively in the men’s 100-meter butterfly in the S11 class for the visually impaired during the Paralympic Games in Paris on Friday.
17:28 JST, September 7, 2024
PARIS — With every stroke, Keiichi Kimura widened the gap between himself and the other swimmers in the men’s 100-meter butterfly S11 class for visual impairments before winning gold on Friday at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
Kimura screamed with joy and punched the water as he secured his second gold medal after winning the men’s 50-meter freestyle.
Kimura said that until three years ago, he had not listened to the advice of others because he did not want to change his swimming style due to the determination to win gold. However, after winning the men’s 100-meter butterfly at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, he was freed from this obsession.
After the Games, Kimura completely changed his swimming style by learning from another Olympic medalist.
“When I just had to swim faster, I was able to experience the joy of swimming again,” Kimura said.
In Paris, Kimura was full of confidence as he competed in his target event.
The 33-year-old swimmer also broke his own butterfly record, which he set at the Tokyo Games. “There was no other feeling than that I would set a personal best,” he said.
Kimura, who lost his sight at age 2, can’t learn like other swimmers do. He said he hopes the challenge he took on to change his swimming style “can give other blind people some hints on how to move their bodies.”
