A decade ago, Yoko Aoki would never have been able to imagine the current life she has.
Without any major sports experience, her day-to-day lifestyle used to be far from that of an average athlete. Now she runs long distances every day, supported by a team that allows her to compete in blind marathon races with the hope of representing Japan at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics — which will begin 500 days from Saturday.
"My life has changed a lot. I never expected this," the 42-year-old Aoki said. "I don't think I've changed. But I can do a lot of different things that I couldn't do before because I have a goal I want to achieve."