Yukinobu Ike

Started: He took up the sport in 2012 at the Freedom club in Kochi, Japan. (Athlete, 04 Sep 2016; asahi.com, 11 Jan 2016) Reason: He began playing wheelchair basketball in 2003. However, he was not selected for the national team ahead of the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, so he switched to wheelchair rugby. (sponichi.co.jp, 28 Sep 2019; datazoo.jp, 28 Oct 2015) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (paralympic.org, 18 Jul 2024) Awards: In 2016 he was given the Ryoma Prize in Kochi, Japan. (kochinews.co.jp, 03 Nov 2016) In 2016 he was presented with the Kochi Prefecture Sports Special Honorary Award in Japan. (asahi.com, 27 Oct 2016) In 2016 he received the Tokyo Honorary Award in Japan. (sports-tokyo.info, 12 Oct 2016) He received the Kochi Sports Excellence Award in 2015. (kochinews.co.jp, 07 Mar 2016) He was named Best Player in the 3.0 category at the 2015 National Championship in Japan. (wakuwaku-works.com, 21 Dec 2015) Additional Info: GOLDEN AMBITION As captain of the Japan wheelchair rugby team, he hopes to lead the team to gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris after he had to settle for bronze at the 2016 and 2020 Games. "I competed at Tokyo 2020, thinking this was the only opportunity for Japan to win the gold medal. I believed it was the only time I could ever win gold in my life. It was very shocking to miss out on that medal. Now, I believe we can win gold in Paris. I want to become a better version of myself. I want to play in Paris in a way that will make many people excited and want to support us. [Tokyo 2020] was held 23 years after my accident, and winning gold at the Paralympics was the best thing I could ever accomplish as an athlete. I was confident that we could win the tournament, and it is still not fully clear why we didn't win. While Tokyo was most definitely my peak [as an athlete], I still think I am at my peak. I was in my best condition at the Tokyo Games, and I may not be at the same fitness level as back then, but we are in a better place in terms of experience, performance and teamwork." (paralympic.org, 18 Jul 2024) COACHING He has served as head coach of the Freedom wheelchair rugby club in Kochi, Japan. (newsdig.tbs.co.jp, 16 Jul 2023; kochinews.co.jp, 30 Aug 2021) OVERSEAS EXPERIENCE In November 2018 he moved to the United States of America, where he played for the Lakeshore Demolition wheelchair rugby team for about six months. "I wanted to go back to basics and to concentrate on the sport [after winning gold with Japan at the 2018 World Championship in Sydney, NSW, Australia]." (nikkoam.com, 10 Aug 2019; sports.smt.docomo.ne.jp, 28 Jan 2019; parasapo.tokyo, 07 Nov 2018; news.yahoo.co.jp, 25 Oct 2018)