SERYU Monika

Classification
KL1 (ICF, 23 Sep 2020)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (gutspose.favclip.com, 24 May 2016)

Impairment Details
The impairment to her lower limbs is the result of an accident in 2013. The incident occurred during a physical education class in year 10 of high school. (sponichi.co.jp, 25 Oct 2016; gutspose.favclip.com, 24 May 2016; Para Do YouTube channel, 12 May 2016)

General
MOTIVATION AFTER POSTPONEMENT
She confessed that she was struggling mentally following the cancellations of tournaments after the postponement of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. However, she was able to regain motivation by interacting with fellow elite athletes through online sessions organised by the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences [JISS] and the National Training Centre [NTC]. "I lost sight of what I was working so hard towards. Not having any competitions for this length of time was a first for me, and the focus of my training shifted to maintaining, rather than improving. Mentally, I was going through a tough time. There was plenty of time to talk online during lockdown, about things like when facilities might open again and training regimens. Sharing information was encouraging, and I realised that I wasn't alone in my struggle. I gained a lot of strength through those interactions." (paralympic.org, 20 Jan 2021)

AUTOBIOGRAPHY
In June 2020 she released her autobiography 'How a Para Athlete Makes an Unbreakable Heart'. (amazon.co.jp, 24 Jun 2020)

BREAK AND RETURN
In 2019 she took a break from her studies to focus on training ahead of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, but in April 2020 she decided to return to University of Tsukuba due to the postponement of the event. She became a member of the Adapted Physical Education and Activity Lap, and also took courses on sports biomechanics, anatomy, kinematics and training studies. "The hands-on, practical teaching certainly helps me understand Para canoe as a sport and plan effective training regimens." (monikaseryu.com, 24 Apr 2019; tokyo2020.org, 25 Aug 2020)

MOVIE ADAPTATION
Her sporting career was portrayed in a film titled 'Pride Over Water' that was due to release in June 2020. The actress her played her role in the film was trained by her coach Akemi Nishi. (iza.ne.jp, 28 Aug 2019; cinra.net, 25 Feb 2020)