Athlete Keita Sato expresses aspiration for sports advancement, personal growth, and societal transformation [Athlete Features]
In the heart of Toyota City, Japan, a 27-year-old Para athlete named Keita Sato arrives at Toyota Motor Corp. headquarters every morning in a blue Prius. Sato, who joined the company in 2017, works in Toyota's Production Control Division, but his passion lies beyond the factory floors.
Sato's journey began in elementary school, where he played soccer with the same fervour that many children do. However, his life took a turn when he was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a type of bone and soft tissue cancer, during his high school years. This diagnosis led him to undergo amputation and switch to Para athletics for rehabilitation.
Sato's determination did not wane. As a third-year high school student, he set a Japanese record for the individual 200m running event. His journey continued, taking him to the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games in London and the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where he won a bronze medal and helped set a new record for Japan in the 4 x 100m relay.
Sato's path has not always been easy. He struggled to adjust to life with a prosthetic leg and felt uneasy about being treated as a person with impairments. However, a meeting with Paralympian Atsushi Yamamoto, the first Japanese Paralympic medalist with a prosthetic leg, changed his perspective. Yamamoto's story of overcoming adversity inspired Sato to accept his own impairment and continue his pursuit of excellence.
Today, Sato's training program includes aerobic warm-ups, mat stretches, abdominal-strengthening, high-level muscle training, and running practice. His personal best in the men's 100m is 11.77 seconds, and he aims to improve this time to run 100m in 10 seconds by the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Sato's life outside of sports is simple. He lives alone and cooks for himself sometimes, with fish being his main dish during lunch. On his days off, he enjoys visiting an onsen or hot spring.
As a Toyota employee, Sato embodies the company's values of "challenge", "modesty and appreciation", and "genchi genbutsu" (going to the source to get the facts). He believes that Toyota can make a change through the Olympic and Paralympic Games, inspiring dreams in many people with his silent fighting spirit. Despite not winning a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympics, Sato remains a beacon of hope and resilience, burning with the desire to achieve his dreams.
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