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Blind Paralympics Marathon Gold Medalist Yuichi Takahashi to Run Mumbai Marathon

http://www.47news.jp/CN/200901/CN2009011701000376.html

translated by Brett Larner

The site of a string of deadly terror attacks this past November, western India's Mumbai will go ahead as scheduled with its Jan. 18 Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, the third event in a four-race international relay. Running for a Visually-Impaired All-Star team is Athens Paralympics men's marathon gold medalist Yuichi Takahashi (43). Takahashi feels a special motivation for his participation this year, saying, "I hope that by showing them that I can run even though I've been blinded I can help give the families of Mumbai the courage to get through the damage done by the terrorists."

The Mumbai Marathon is part of the Greatest Race on Earth series of marathons sponsored for the fifth time by London's Standard Chartered Bank. The four-race series takes place in Nairobi, Singapore, Mumbai and Taiwan, with the cumulative times of a team's runners in each race determining the overall winner. Alongside the All-Star team, 36 teams are entered in the series.

Takahashi arrived in Mumbai on Jan. 14, visiting a hospital for the visually-imparied where he presented a group of inpatient children with a gift of running shoes.
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