Yurie Kanuma

Yurie Kanuma

Personal information
Nationality	Japanese
Born	(1981-05-20) May 20, 1981 Machida, Tokyo, Japan
Sport
Sport	Para-cycling Paralympic biathlon Paralympic cross-country skiing
Medal record Women's Para-cycling Representing Japan Summer Paralympics 2016 Rio de Janeiro Road time trial B Track World Championships 2016 Montichiari Tandem B pursuit

Yurie Kanuma (鹿沼 由理恵, Kanuma Yurie, born May 20, 1981) is a Japanese former biathlete, cross-country skier and cyclist. She represented Japan at the 2010 Winter Paralympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics. As a cyclist, she competed in para-cycling tandem road and track events.

Early life and education

Kanuma was born on May 20, 1981, and is originally from Machida, Tokyo. She was born with visual impairment (low-vision). She graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan Bunkyo School for the Blind.

Sporting career

At the age of 25, Kanuma discovered Nordic skiing (cross-country) and began competing in earnest in 2008. At the 2010 Winter Paralympics, she finished 5th in the 3 x 2.5 km relay event. She then switched to cycling.

In 2016, Kanuma was selected as a representative for the 2016 Summer Paralympics, but before the start of the competition, she gradually lost feeling in her arm and developed peripheral nerve paralysis. However, she was told that "if she received treatment, she would no longer be able to represent Japan," so she took painkillers and participated in the Paralympics. At that Paralympics, she participated in the women's road time trial B with pilot Mai Tanaka and won a silver medal. In recognition of her achievement, she was awarded the Machida City Citizen's Honor Award in the same year. Her left arm was subsequently amputated in 2018.

Kanuma served as a torchbearer for the 2020 Summer Olympics, running in Tokyo on July 9, 2021.