【Project Activities】

We invite Cambodian runners with disabilities to participate in the Angkor Wat International Half Marathon, held every December.

【Project Background】

Our representative, Yuko Arimori, participated as an invited athlete in the Angkor Wat International Half Marathon in 1996. To help sustain the event, we established our organization voluntarily. The race began as a charity event aimed at supporting landmine victims in Cambodia and promoting the abolition of landmines, including support for prosthetic limbs and participation by people with disabilities. In Cambodia, prejudice led many people with disabilities to remain at home. We believed that integrating sport into daily life could help rebuild connections with society. By creating a disability category and encouraging participation, the event became a gateway for people with disabilities to gain peers, courage, and hope to step into society. After event operations were transferred to the Cambodian Olympic Committee in 2013, we have continued to dispatch athletes with disabilities as part of our disability support program.

【Project Objective】

Promote social participation of people with disabilities.

【Project Area】

Para Sports

【Methods】

Dispatching and hosting athletes

【Outcomes】

Since dispatch began in 2001, a cumulative total of 1,307 people with disabilities have participated in the race. Participation in the Angkor Wat International Half Marathon has motivated many who previously stayed at home to continue sports and take steps toward social participation. Some participants have gone on to compete as para-athletes, including at the Paralympic Games.

【Voices from Participants and Partners】

“I even thought about ending my life. Because of my disability, people looked down on me and I couldn’t make friends. But thanks to Heart of Gold, I was able to run in a marathon, where I met friends with similar disabilities. Sports became enjoyable, and I gained confidence in myself.” (Prosthetic-leg runner, Vet Chantha)

【Challenges and Lessons Learned】

Most of the people with disabilities we have supported have become athletes affiliated with the Paralympic Committee, enabling active social participation. Going forward, we will strengthen the system so that more people with disabilities—including those not already connected to elite sport—can step into society through sport.

【URL】

2022年　https://www.facebook.com/share/p/e3FF3i1vc8UY3xrd/
2023年　https://www.facebook.com/share/p/yVaGjACjGfAtoLRQ/