For amputee sprinter Hitomi Onishi, winning races and setting records provides a thrill, but greater satisfaction comes from simply running alongside a full complement of competitors with disabilities.

Onishi, 37, competes in the T42 class for athletes with above-knee amputation and holds a 100-meter national record of 17.41 seconds. As the use of an artificial knee makes running extremely difficult, few people ran in the class when Onishi began competing 10 years ago. But she has been working to increase sporting participation among amputees.

At a track meet in July in the Kanto region, Onishi was delighted to see five other athletes competing in the T42 100-meter dash, which she won.