Kae Kurahashi (倉橋 香衣, Kurahashi Kae, born September 15, 1990) is a Japanese wheelchair rugby player who currently plays for Mitsui O.S.K. Lines/AXE and the Japanese national team.
Background and career
Kurahashi continued gymnastics in junior high and high school, and after graduating from high school, she entered Bunkyo University Faculty of Education in Saitama Prefecture with the aim of becoming a teacher, and joined the trampoline club. In her third year at university, she failed a trick while practicing for a trampoline tournament, breaking her neck and damaging her cervical spinal cord. She lost almost all feeling below her collarbone and could only move part of her shoulders and arms. Still, she did not give up and worked hard on her rehabilitation with the aim of returning to university. One day, she encountered wheelchair rugby and was immediately fascinated by its intensity.[1]
In 2016, Kurahashi joined Mitsui O.S.K. Lines after graduating from Bunkyo University Faculty of Education. In 2017, she was the only female player selected for the Japanese national team.[2] In 2021, she was selected as a recommended athlete for the Japanese national team for the 2020 Summer Paralympics, with who she won a bronze medal.[3][4] In 2024, she was selected as a recommended athlete for the Japanese national team for the 2024 Summer Paralympics.
References
^"「日本代表初の女性選手」という葛藤と意". WEDGE Infinity(ウェッジ). 3 November 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"アメフトのポジションの役割を紹介". 【SPAIA】スパイア. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
