Misato Michishita (JPN), with her Guide runner, competing in the 2019 London Marathon. She went on to win the T11/12 Category in a time of 03:06:18
More than 5,800 miles separate Paralympic medallist Misato Michishita’s home town in Japan from the city of London, but the streets of the UK capital have been a regular home-from-home for the 42-year-old vision impaired athlete in recent years. Wins in 2017 and 2018 have marked her down as one of the favourites for gold at this month’s World Para Athletics Marathon Championships, taking place in conjunction with the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday 28 April. Her time of 3:04:00 last year was more than six minutes clear of the rest of the women’s T11/12 field; the year before that, nearly 10 minutes separated first and second place. “While the course in London is very tough for vision impaired athletes, I can feel the passion and warmth of the spectators that is different from Japan." “Although the London Marathon is a stepping stone to Tokyo 2020 (Paralympics), I would like to aim for a gold medal by demonstrating the results of my practice, because I have never won a gold medal in a Paralympic Games or even in a World Championships.” said Michishita, who set the world record for her class when she clocked 2:56:14 in Hofu City, Japan, 16 months ago. “When it came to my final push to the finish line in 2018, I believed that I could win. In my case, I have just a few experiences competing very closely against other athletes during the race, and to win by such a distance gave me great confidence. “I have been able to train consistently for the last two years. I’m ready!”
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Location: North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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