Aurora
The team was named “AURORA”, meaning “daybreak” in Italian; it carries with it our hope for the future development of sports for the athletes with disabilities.
Events
Nordic skiing
Nordic skiing consists of two events, cross-country skiing and biathlon, which combines skiing and shooting.In order to ensure fair competition, rules have been devised and equipment has evolved to reflect the nature of the sport.
The competition is divided into three disability categories for men and women: standing, sitting, and visual. Rankings are determined by multiplying actual race times by a coefficient set according to the degree of each athlete’s disability.
Wheelchair Athletics
Among parasports, track and field events that are performed in sports wheelchairs are known as “wheelchair athletics,” which include a wide variety of track events, as well as road racing events such as wheelchair marathons.Classifications are determined on the basis of event category and disability category.
Team member profile
Taiki Kawayoke
A young star taking over the baton from a legend
Kawayoke began cross-country skiing at the age of six.Wearing the Vancouver Games gold medal won by Yoshihiro Nitta around his neck inspired his decision to try out for the Paralympic Games.He won the gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Paralympic Games and took Nitta’s place as the next star of Japan’s national team.
Classification: LW5/7 — Impairment in both arms
Home prefecture: Toyama
Yurika Abe
Aiming for the Paralympic Games, balancing childcare and competition
Abe has had an impairment in her left arm since birth.In her second year of junior high school, she watched the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic skiing on TV, and was captivated by the sight of athletes with the same disability as her own skiing with only one pole, which prompted her to take up the sport in earnest.In 2016, at the World Cup held in Finland, she won her first championship.Having given birth to her first child in April 2023, she is aiming to compete in her fourth Paralympic Games.
Classification: LW6 — Impairment in one arm
Home prefecture: Iwate
Yoshihiro Nitta
A legend leading Japan’s para-cross country skiing
At the age of three, he lost his left arm up to the elbow in a combine harvester accident, before taking up cross-country skiing in his third year of elementary school.He was scouted by the Japanese national team before the 1998 Nagano Paralympic Games and has since competed in seven consecutive Games.His record so far includes three gold medals.
Classification: LW8 — Amputation of left arm below the elbow
Home prefecture: Okayama
Kazutoshi Nagahama
The flag-bearer leading the team to the world’s summit
Nagahama represented Japan in cross-country skiing at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics and the 1998 Nagano Olympics.After retiring, he became an instructor and has been coaching local youth ski teams since 2002.He worked as a coach for the Japanese cross-country team from 2006 until the Sochi Olympics in 2014.Since 2014, he has been involved with the AURORA Ski Team as a coach, and took on the role of Ski Team Director in 2018.
Former cross-country skier
Home prefecture: Aomori
Hiroki Kishizawa
A rising star who continues to develop
In college, an accident during training left him with paralysis in his lower body, but in 2018 he switched to parasports, and began competing in wheelchair athletics.Assigned T54 classification, he has recorded numerous achievements in national competitions, including a rookie of the year award at the Oita International Wheelchair Half Marathon in 2019, and competed at the World Para Athletics Championships in 2024.
Classification: T54 — Lower limb impairment
Home prefecture: Osaka
Tatsuya Baba
The relentless competitor
Baba started playing sledge ice hockey as a student and was selected as a designated All-Japan development athlete.He also tried his hand at cross-country skiing, competing in the IPC Cross-Country Skiing 2015 World Cup Asahikawa.At that time, he met Kozo Kubo, who competed in wheelchair athletics, and this led him to take up the sport in earnest.He is aiming to be selected as a designated development athlete in the T34 class and to represent Japan in international competitions.
Classification: T34 — Functional impairment in four limbs due to cerebral palsy
Home prefecture: Hokkaido
Kozo Kubo
A Sochi winter Paralympic medalist and a standout at the summer Paralympic Games
In an accident during his third year of high school, he suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed in the lower half of his body.Inspired by a wheelchair marathon he saw on his hospital bed, he began competing.From 2008, he decided to focus on skiing.He won a bronze medal in biathlon at the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Games.He then switched back to wheelchair athletics and competed in two Summer Paralympic Games.In April 2024, he retired from international competitions to focus on participating in domestic competitions and training young athletes.
Classification: T54 — Lower body paralysis due to spinal injury
Home prefecture: Hokkaido
Major Results
- 2005 - 2006
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Paralympics, TurinMiyuki Kobayashi ※Gold medal (1)
Silver medal (1)Shoko Ota ※Bronze medal (1) - 2009 - 2010
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Paralympics, VancouverYoshihiro NittaGold medal (2)Shoko Ota ※Silver medal (1)
- 2012 –2013
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World CupKozo KuboBiathlon, 1st place overall world ranking
- 2013 - 2014
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Paralympics, SochiKozo KuboBronze medal (1)
- 2017 - 2018
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Paralympics, PyeongchangYoshihiro NittaGold medal (1)
Silver medal (1) - 2018 - 2019
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World championship, CanadaTaiki KawayokeGold medal (1)
- 2021 - 2022
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Paralympics, BeijingTaiki KawayokeGold medal (1)
- 2022 - 2023
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World championship, SwedenTaiki KawayokeSilver medal (1)World CupTaiki KawayokeCross-country, 1st place overall world rankingWorld CupYoshihiro NittaCross-country, 3rd place overall world ranking
- 2023 - 2024
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World CupTaiki KawayokeCross-country, 1st place overall world rankingWorld CupYoshihiro NittaCross-country, 3rd place overall world ranking
- 2016
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Paralympics, Rio de janeiroKozo Kubo5,000m 14th
Wheelchair marathon 18th - 2018
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Asian Para Games, JakartaKozo Kubo5,000m 6th
- 2021
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Paralympics, TokyoKozo Kubo5,000m 7th
- 2023
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World Para Athletics Championships, ParisKozo Kubo5,000m 7thAsian Para Games, HangzhouHiroki Kishizawa800m 7th
1,500m 8th - 2024
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World Para Athletics Championships, KobeHiroki Kishizawa1,500m 9th