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The 41st Oita International Wheelchair Marathon Report
Susannah Scaroni's passion to take on the challenges to make her dreams come true
The Oita International Wheelchair Marathon started in 1981 as the world‘s first international marathon exclusively for wheelchair athletes. Driven by the passion to champion athletes who are taking on challenges to make their dreams come true, Honda has been providing a wide range of support to such inspiring athletes as the sponsor of this sport event since 1990.
Susannah Scaroni (USA), supported by Honda, has entered this long-established race for the first time in three years. Despite of the serious injury she suffered from an accident in 2021, she returned to the track and field at an amazing speed. Since then, she has been continuing to make great strides by winning a series of international competitions, including the 5,000m race where she broke the world record and cemented her position as the top athlete.
Through this report, we shed light on her passionate performance in this race, her motivation to compete and overcome difficulties, and her tireless efforts to continue pursuing her dreams.
Day before the race
Susannah (far left) participating in the opening ceremony
The youngsters were all thrilled to get her autograph!
[LEFT]Susannah (far left) participating in the opening ceremony
[RIGHT]The youngsters were all thrilled to get her autograph!
Interaction with children
at the opening ceremony
On November 19, one day before the race, the opening ceremony was held in the downtown area of Oita City, where top athletes from Japan and abroad have gathered along with local competitors and children sought to lead the future wheelchair athletics community.
After the ceremony, many children crowded around Susannah. It was impressive to see her responding “OK!” welcomingly with a friendly smile to all these youngsters asking for her autograph and a shot of memorable photo together.
On the day of the race
Honda‘s cheering squad sending hearty cheers at Benten Ohashi Bridge
Women’s marathon for T34/53/54 turned out to be a very close race between the top
three (Susannah on the right) competing ferociously to finish first, second or third.
[LEFT]Honda‘s cheering squad sending hearty cheers at Benten Ohashi Bridge
[RIGHT]Women’s marathon for T34/53/54 turned out to be a very close race between the top three (Susannah on the right) competing ferociously to finish first, second or third.
The race was filled with excitement.
On November 20, the day of the race, Oita was filled with high spirit and excitement . This year's race was open to both professional and amateur competitors that totaled 158 entries, including 25 participants from abroad. The fervor was further enhanced by this year’s lifting of the ban to send hearty audible cheers to the hard-racing athletes from the roadside, which had been restricted for the last few years due to the enforcement of strict safety measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infections.
Susannah came in the 2nd place after engaging in a head-to-head race with Wakako Tsuchida until just before the finish line, with only 2 seconds behind the winner. The heated battle between the two moved the hearts of so many spectators, filling them with thrilling sensation.
Photo Gallary
Race Result
Women’s Marathon for T34/53/54
2nd place 1:38:01 Susannah Scaroni
“It was a lot of fun racing with very strong competitors!”
I was aiming for the world record before the race because my conditions were so good. However, I could not maintain the pace I wanted to keep and ended up competing with two other racers until the finish line.
Unfortunately, I finished 2nd, but it was a lot of fun racing with Tsuchida (1st) and Kina (3rd)!
Interview about her passion for the Oita International Wheelchair Marathon,
her passion for competition, and her dreams.
On the day after the big race, we got together with Susannah for an interview session that was set after she finished attending the data measuring session and meeting with Honda technical team. Following a short break, we asked Susannah about what led her to become a wheelchair athlete, her passion for the sport, and the source of her motivation to overcome difficulties and continue pursuing her dream.
What is your impression of
Oita International Marathon?
It was a very impressive race.
Felt glad to be back!
I have competed in many different international races, but the Oita International Wheelchair Marathon is especially very memorable for me because this is a race for wheelchair athletes only and I can meet hundreds of them when I come here. When I entered this race for the first time in 2019, I was able to feel the warmth of the people here at Oita and how much they valued the wheelchair marathon. The cheers I received from the roadside were also wonderful. It was the same this time too. The “Go for it!” shout-outs from many people of all ages, as well as the loud "Susannah-san!“calls I heard from the Honda people while I was racing along the Benten Ohashi Bridge made me very happy.
On top of that, Honda provided sincere support during the competition, from maintenance of my racer (a three-wheeled wheelchair used for track-and-field athletics) to day-to-day matters, which enabled me to stay focused on the race with a sense of security. To me, Honda is more than just a partner.
What was the initial trigger that led you to decide on becoming a wheelchair athlete?
My first encounter was when I was ten.
I fell in love right away!
When I was five, I got into an accident that put me in a wheelchair. After that, due to the discrepancy caused by the serious injury, I was unable to play the sports I used to love as actively as before. But when I was around ten, I learned about adapted sports from the children’s hospital that I used to go at the time. They provided my family the information on how to access this sports facility that offered those opportunities. I said to my mother “I want to go!” and when she took me there, I saw people playing wheelchair basketball and others engaging in wheelchair racing practices. I got the chance to try them out, together with these athletes.
I had so much fun and fell in love with them right away. From then on throughout my high school years, I continued to do both wheelchair basketball and wheelchair racing.
What attracts you to wheelchair racing?
It offers me a lot of “fun” and
“things to learn”
I find a lot of enjoyment in wheelchair athletics, whether it’s simply moving my body, pushing my wheelchair hard, or racing.
I also love the community as well as the people I race against. I‘ve built great relationships with these competitors and my teammates, and I have a lot of fun being with them. I am also attracted to the fact that there are many things to learn.
For example, during the 5,000m race that I entered in 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, I slipped in the rain and injured my wrist. When something like that happens, some people may think, “Oh, it was a wasted event.” Instead, I learned a lot about how I should prepare to compete better in slippery, rainy conditions. Even if something doesn’t turn out the way you hoped for, you can always learn from anything. That is why I like the phrase "there is no such thing as wasted effort.”
In 2021, you got into an accident while you were training.
What motivated you to overcome the difficulties and come back very strong as an athlete?
It was a “sense of gratitude” that enabled me to overcome a serious injury.
When I got into an accident during training, I was struck by a number of feelings. One was “fear”. I got scared of what might happen to me from there onward. The other was “disappointment”.
I was disappointed with myself because the accident occurred when I was actually in good condition. But there was another feeling the came over me even more strongly. I felt “so glad to know that I not only survived but was also able to keep racing.” This experience gave me a very different perspective and I became really grateful for everything I could do now, and my drive to work on the comeback began to pump up. Because of the injury, in some ways I had to start all over again, but this gave me more tolerance and the habit of thinking more scientifically about how to train efficiently since I was only able to practice for a shorter amount of time at first.
As I got stronger, I gained a better understanding of the sport than what I used to take for granted before, and this has been a great help in my recovery.
What is the source of your passion that gets you working energetically as an athlete?
I want to be a role model for
younger athletes in adapted sports!
I had the best time at the opening ceremony of this event. Many children came up to me and we got the chance to interact with one another. I am working to be a competitor with an aim to be a role model for younger athletes in adapted sports who they can aspire to be in the future. I think it would be wonderful if such interaction with them like the one we had this time help make them realize, “Yes, this is what I can do” and also make their families and friends feel assured that “Yes, we should let them do whatever they want to become.”
Please give a message to children who are working hard to achieve their dreams.
You can be anything you want to be.
You just have to try.
Even if you have a disability, you can be in any profession you want to be and do anything you set your mind to do. However, to do so, you must be determined to take on the challenges.
"You can be anything you want to be. You just have to try." This is the message I want to give to these children. My goal as an athlete is to set a world record in the marathon race, but I also have two other personal targets: either pursue a career as a nutritionist who can work closely with other athletes or work in a hospital. I will be getting my master‘s degree in nutrition science next month, so I will keep working hard to achieve both my goal as an athlete and my dream as a nutritionist.
This sport event became a great opportunity for us all to directly feel Susannah‘s passion for wheelchair marathon and see her world-class performance with our own eyes.
There is no limit to what you can do.
You can be anything!
You just have to try.
Through her performance as an athlete, Susannah has shown us how important it is to keep working hard toward one’s own dreams with a positive mindset.The way she performed made us feel emboldened as it resonated strongly with our belief in the power of dreams.
Honda will continue to work together with athletes who keep striving toward their dreams to let as many people as possible know about all the wonderful things they can achieve through the power of dreams.
This sport event became a great opportunity for us all to directly feel Susannah‘s passion for wheelchair marathon and see her world-class performance with our own eyes.
There is no limit to what you can do.
You can be anything!
You just have to try.
Through her performance as an athlete, Susannah has shown us how important it is to keep working hard toward one’s own dreams with a positive mindset.The way she performed made us feel emboldened as it resonated strongly with our belief in the power of dreams.
Honda will continue to work together with athletes who keep striving toward their dreams to let as many people as possible know about all the wonderful things they can achieve through the power of dreams.
