Shinichi Shimakawa

Shinichi Shimakawa
	Shinichi Shimakawa at Paris 2024 Summer Olympians and Paralympians Japan National Team parade event on November 30th, 2024
Date of birth	January 29, 1975 (age 50)
Place of birth	Nagasu, Kumamoto, Japan
Occupation(s)	Wheelchair rugby player
Rugby union career
Position(s)
Position(s)	-
International career
Years	Team
	Japan
Representing Japan
Paralympic Games
Wheelchair rugby

Shinichi Shimakawa (島川慎一, Shimakawa Shinichi, born January 29, 1975 in Nagasu, Kumamoto, Japan) is a Japanese wheelchair rugby player who currently plays for Barclays Securities and the Japanese national team.^[1] He participated in the Summer Paralympics in 2012 and won a bronze medal in the 2016, 2020 editions and a gold medal in the 2024 edition.

Background and career

At the age of 21, Shimakawa was involved in a traffic accident that damaged his cervical spinal cord, forcing him to use a wheelchair. In summer 1999, he started playing wheelchair rugby after watching a match. In 2005, he founded "BLITZ". To date, he has won the Japan Championships eight times. At the same time, he began playing in the USQRA (US domestic league) as a member of the Phoenix Heat from the 2005–2006 season. In the 2005–2006 season, he won his first USQRA Division I Nationals (US Championships) and became the first foreign player to receive the USQRA Athlete of the Year award. After that, he played in the US domestic league for a total of four seasons, winning the US national championship in two of those seasons.

In 2021, Shimakawa was selected as a recommended player for the Japanese national team for the 2020 Summer Paralympics and won a bronze medal.^[2]^[3]

Awards and honors

In 2016, Shimakawa received the Saitama Sports Achievement Award.^[4]

References

^ "島川慎一のプロフィール車いすラグビー東京オリンピックパラリンピック". NHK (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 January 2025.
^ "東京2020パラリンピック競技大会日本代表推薦選手について JWRF 一般社団法人日本車いすラグビー連盟" (in Japanese). 日本車いすラグビー連盟. 21 June 2021. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
^ "【東京パラリンピック】「日本ラグビー」で2大会連続銅メダル！池主将のリーダーシップと仲間たち" (in Japanese). ラグビー共和国. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
^ "内村、桐生ら８人を埼玉県が表彰". スポニチアネックス. Sports Nippon. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.

[1] "島川慎一のプロフィール車いすラグビー東京オリンピックパラリンピック". NHK (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 January 2025.

[2] "東京2020パラリンピック競技大会日本代表推薦選手について JWRF 一般社団法人日本車いすラグビー連盟" (in Japanese). 日本車いすラグビー連盟. 21 June 2021. Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.

[3] "【東京パラリンピック】「日本ラグビー」で2大会連続銅メダル！池主将のリーダーシップと仲間たち" (in Japanese). ラグビー共和国. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.

[4] "内村、桐生ら８人を埼玉県が表彰". スポニチアネックス. Sports Nippon. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.

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