[Special Feature: Tokyo 2020 and Keio University] Naoya Nagata: Psychological Support for Para-athletes

2021/12/16

"There is no success for the Tokyo Games without the success of the Paralympics." This slogan was championed during the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Tokyo Paralympics were expected to serve as a game changer to transform society toward the realization of an "inclusive society" where people with disabilities can actively participate and contribute. Within this context, the Japanese delegation won a total of 51 medals, including 13 gold medals, and regardless of medal counts, conveyed the wonders of para-sports to many people and demonstrated human potential. Athletes did not give up despite the postponement caused by the spread of COVID-19 and continued their efforts for over five years. Furthermore, coaches and staff supported those efforts and ran alongside the athletes.

As a member of the medical, scientific, and information support staff for the Japan Paralympic Committee (JPC) of the Japan Para Sports Association, I have provided support to athletes, coaches, and staff aiming for the Paralympics. In this article, I will report on a portion of these activities leading up to the Tokyo Paralympics.

Since 2006, the JPC has implemented medical, scientific, and information support projects to enhance sports medicine and science support in para-sports. I belong to the psychological field (JPC Psychological Support Team) within these projects and work alongside 11 other staff members. Psychological support for athletes aiming for the Paralympics is provided according to the requests of sports organizations and the athletes themselves. The psychological challenges raised as requests by sports organizations and athletes do not differ significantly from those of able-bodied individuals without disabilities. If there are points that require consideration, it is the specific characteristics of their disabilities.

For example, in psychological support, we use imagery training—where athletes create a mental image of themselves competing—to acquire new skills or promote tactical understanding. When able-bodied individuals perform this training, they can utilize information obtained through vision. On the other hand, when working with athletes with visual impairments, the support side must adapt their instructions after understanding the athlete's current level of vision and whether the impairment is congenital or acquired. This is because, in some cases, instructions containing visual information may not be understood by the athlete. However, providing support tailored to such athlete characteristics is standard practice in any support that respects individual traits, regardless of the presence of a disability. I would like you to understand that it is not necessarily the case that special attention to individuality is required only because they are para-athletes (athletes with disabilities).

Now, for the Tokyo Games, the event was postponed for the first time due to the spread of COVID-19, requiring athletes, coaches, and staff to continue their training activities for longer than usual. The postponement, coming at a time when the Paralympics were drawing near, had a major impact on the athletes. One can imagine they were under high mental stress, unable to go out, let alone practice.

The JPC Psychological Support Team provided information via videos to help maintain mental health for athletes and stakeholders who were forced to restrict their activities due to the pandemic, and set up opportunities for athletes to talk with each other online. By sharing the challenges they each faced, the athletes seemed to be able to ease their minds. Such initiatives were also implemented by various sports organizations and can be cited as good examples of the flexibility of those involved in para-sports.

Around the summer of 2020, the infection situation temporarily stabilized, and training activities resumed nationwide. However, for some athletes aiming for the Paralympics, the impact of changes in the infection situation continued until just before the opening of the Games, requiring creative approaches to training activities. During periods of high COVID-19 infection risk, intensive training camps held in groups were canceled to avoid the risk of infection. Consequently, some sports organizations attempted to maintain teamwork by replacing group camps with online meetings.

I participated in online meetings in response to requests from national teams conducting such activities. The content of the support was to prepare an environment where athletes could easily converse and discuss; the majority of the meetings were driven by the enthusiasm of the athletes, coaches, and staff. In the meetings, I was able to feel the attitude of the athletes as they worked positively on what they could do even in situations that did not go as planned, which was a wonderful opportunity for me.

The period from 2020 to 2021 was a time of significant impact for athletes aiming for the Tokyo Paralympics due to the spread of an infectious disease and the postponement of the Games, both of which were unprecedented for many. However, they continued their efforts with the flexibility to adapt to the situation and the resilient strength to conduct activities according to their circumstances. It is a great honor to have been involved in a part of that. I hope that the strength possessed by these para-athletes reaches many people, and I wish to continue my support activities for athletes, coaches, and staff in the future.