Impairment Information |
Type of Impairment |
Spinal Cord Injuries |
Origin of Impairment |
Acquired |
Classification |
SB-LL2 |
Further Personal Information |
Family |
Wife Sumiko, sons Keito and Ao |
Residence |
Kobe, JPN |
Occupation |
Athlete |
Languages |
Japanese |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He began snowboarding in 2001. He took up Para snowboard in 2016. |
Why this sport? |
"When my right leg was paralysed, I was looking for something I would be able to challenge myself in. And I came across Para snowboarding." |
Club / Team |
Cow Brand Soap Kyoshinsha: Japan |
Name of coach |
Naoki Wataya [national], JPN; Kenichi Niboshi [national], JPN |
General Interest |
Hobbies |
Spending time with his wife. (Athlete, 04 Mar 2022) |
Most influential person in career |
US snowboarder Travis Rice. (Athlete, 04 Mar 2022) |
Hero / Idol |
His parents. (Athlete, 04 Mar 2022) |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Every moment I am snowboarding is memorable." (Athlete, 04 Mar 2022) |
Impairment |
His impairment is the result of a snowboarding accident in 2015 in which he fractured his third lumbar vertebra. He has a more severe impairment to his right lower limb than his left. (Nippon Challenged Athlete radio, 05 Feb 2021; Fineplay YouTube channel, 29 Mar 2020; keijiokamoto.com, 19 Dec 2018) |
Other information |
BUSINESS VENTURES
In 2007 he was a founder of HYWOD, a snowboard team in Japan that has organised competitions and been involved in snowboard park construction. HYWOD also owns Osaka King, a snowboard facility where Okamoto works as manager. In 2018 he launched Yukiyama, a mobile app that helps users find places to ski and snowboard in Japan. (Facebook profile, 29 Sep 2021; Nippon Challenged Athlete radio, 05 Feb 2021; keijiokamoto.com, 29 Jun 2020; cow-sports.jp, 03 Mar 2020; snow.gnavi.co.jp, 21 Sep 2019)
AUTHOR
In 2015 he published a book titled 'Snowboard High Speed Improvement Manual'. (cow-sports.jp, 03 Mar 2020; item.rakuten.co.jp, 01 Jan 2020) |
