| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Japanese | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 17 February 1991 Kobe, Japan | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Paralympic judo | ||||||||||||||
| Disability | Visually impaired | ||||||||||||||
| Event | 81kg | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Aramitsu Kitazono (born 17 February 1991) is a Japanese visually impaired Paralympic judoka. [1] He made his first Paralympic appearance during the 2012 Summer Paralympics. [2] He was set to represent Japan at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in the judoka competition but had to withdraw from the event after being hit by a self driving bus. [3]
He represented Japan at the 2012 Summer Paralympics which was his first Paralympic appearance and competed in men's 100kg event. He also represented Japan at the 2016 Summer Paralympics and took part in the men's 73kg event. He claimed a bronze medal in the men's 81kg event at the 2018 Asian Para Games which was held in Jakarta. [4]
He was scheduled to compete in the round of 16 event of the men's 81kg category at the 2020 Summer Olympics on 28 August 2021 and it would have been his third Paralympic appearance for Japan. [5] [6] However, he was forced to withdraw at the last minute two days before his scheduled event after sustaining injuries to his head and legs during an accident which happened on 26 August 2021 at the Paralympics athletes village. [7] It was revealed that Aramitsu was hit by a Toyota e-Palette driverless vehicle when he was walking on a pedestrian crossing and the vehicle was blamed for its technical fault. [8]
According to reports, the driverless vehicle which caused the accident had been operated by Toyota and the accident prompted the company to temporarily suspend the e-Palette driverless vehicle service. [9] According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, he needs to rest for at least two weeks in order to recover from the injuries. President of Toyota, Akio Toyoda, personally intervened into the matter and apologised to Aramitsu stating that there had been overconfidence in the technology of autonomous driving. [10] His opponent Dmytro Solovey of Ukraine automatically qualified to the quarterfinals as a result of Aramitsu's late withdrawal. [11]
Paralympic judo has been contested at the Summer Paralympic Games since 1988. The sport is restricted to visually impaired competitors. Men's and women's events are held in various weight classes, just like judo at the Summer Olympics. More than 130 visually impaired judokas, including some from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Spain and Sweden, competed in the Rio 2016 games, making it the biggest yet staged.
The 2020 Summer Paralympics, branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo featured around 393, 128 judoka competing in 15 events, seven each for both men and women as well as a new mixed team event. The 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the judo competitions were held in July 2021 at Nippon Budokan.
Sanne Verhagen is a Dutch judoka. She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the women's 57 kg event, in which she was eliminated in the second round by Dorjsürengiin Sumiyaa. She also competed in the women's 57 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan.
Alexandru Florin "Alex" Bologa is a Romanian visually impaired Paralympic judoka. Competing in the 60-kg weight division he won bronze medals at the 2016 and 2020 Paralympics.
Serbia competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's fifth appearance at the Summer Olympics as an independent nation.
Japan competed as the host nation of the 2020 Summer Paralympics in their capital Tokyo from 24 August to 5 September 2021.
Cycling at the 2020 Summer Paralympics took place in two separate locations. Track cycling took place at the Izu Velodrome from 25 to 28 August 2021 and road cycling took place on the Fuji Speedway from 31 August to 3 September 2021.
Judo at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo took place at the Nippon Budokan from 27 to 29 August 2021. There were 138 qualified slots in 13 events: 7 male events and 6 female events.
Athletics at the 2020 Summer Paralympics were held in the National Stadium in Tokyo. There was 167 medal events: 93 for men, 73 for women and one mixed event. It was the largest contest of the Games programme regarding athlete numbers and medal events to be scheduled.
Harumi Futō is located in Harumi (晴海), an island district of Chūō, Tokyo. 'Harumi' may mean sunny, spring or beauty, while 'futō' (埠頭) refers to coastline or pier. The harbour pier supports Harumi Terminal Park which berths cruise ships, and was part of an urban redevelopment project site associated with the 2020 Olympic Village.
Sergio Ibáñez Banon is a Spanish Paralympic judoka. He won a silver medal in the men's 66 kg event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan.
Recep Çiftçi is a Turkish Paralympic judoka. He won one of the bronze medals in the men's 60 kg event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan.
The men's 81 kg judo competition at the 2020 Summer Paralympics was held on 28 August 2021 at the Nippon Budokan.
Zeynep Çelik is a Turkish world and European champion Paralympic judoka with visual impairment.
Temirzhan Daulet is a Kazakh Paralympic judoka. He won the silver medal in the men's 73 kg event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan.
Rufat Mahomedov is a Ukrainian Paralympic judoka. He won one of the bronze medals in the men's 73 kg event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan.
Osvaldas Bareikis is a Lithuanian Paralympic judoka. He won one of the bronze medals in the men's 73 kg event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan.
Zarina Baibatina is a visually impaired Kazakhstani Paralympic judoka. She represented Kazakhstan at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan and she won the silver medal in the women's +70 kg event.
Elliot Stewart is a British Paralympic judoka. At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, he won a silver medal in the men's 90 kg event.
