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15-Year-Old to Compete in Nagano Paralympics When Naoya Maruyama had his left leg amputated at the knee in a car accident, he gave up on becoming a ski jumper. He was then a fourth grader at a local elementary school in Hakuba Village, in the north of Nagano Prefecture. He had been practicing jumping since about a year before losing his leg.
Maruyama started practicing downhill skiing after his accident. After years of training, the 15-year-old boy was chosen to be the youngest downhill skier to compete in the Winter Paralympic Games in Nagano in March 1998.
A ninth-grader at Hakuba Middle School, Maruyama is a member of its ski club, currently consisting of 18 students. Because the school is surrounded by the three mountains of Hakuba, there are many ski areas where the club members practice throughout winter.
Nearly 170 centimeters tall and weighing 77 kilograms (5'7" and 170 lbs), Maruyama engages in all kinds of training after school just like the other club members. Wearing an artificial leg, he can even jump rope without any difficulty.
"I have never felt any inconvenience because of my physical handicap," says Maruyama. His outgoing nature is visible in various aspects of his school life. He ran as a candidate for and was elected president of the student body.
"He is full of energy and is also very willing to help others. He always takes the initiative in cleaning or picking up garbage while we are away from school for training," his club teacher says.
Maruyama confesses that his future dream is to become an artificial leg designer. "I would like to make the one which best fits me by myself. But this is for the sake of skiing," he added.
"I hope to compete not only in the Paralympics in Nagano next year, but also in future Paralympic Games as well. I want to keep doing this sport until I become very old," said Maruyama.
