Nitta and Ota are full-time employees of Hitachi Systems, a computer technology company based in Tokyo with more than 4000 people on its payroll.
While their colleagues work on computer data systems, Nitta and Ota and their Nordic ski team colleagues go skiing.
"It was the first time a company in Japan supported a disabled ski team," Ota said yesterday.
Nitta, who lives in Okayama, and Ota, from Yamagata, are category LW8 skiers, because they don't have part of their lower left arms. They both ski with one pole.
Nitta said he lost his limb in an accident with a rice cutter when he was 3 years old.
Ota was born with her condition.
Nitta is ranked second in the world in the IPC LW8 category and has raced at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Paralympics.
His goal is a gold medal at the Vancouver Paralympics next year, after securing fifth place in Turin in 2006 and a bronze medal in Salt Lake City in 2002.
Ota is ranked eighth in the world and won a bronze medal in Turin in the biathlon, aged 16.
"I don't remember much. It was just so amazing," she said.
Both skiers have visited the Snow Farm in previous years and did not go home from the Winter Games empty-handed, Ota winning three gold medals and Yoshihiro a gold and a bronze.
It is the first elite snowsports event where adaptive and able-bodied athletes have competed together in both cross country skiing and alpine skiing.
The scoring systems are being kept separate, to allow individuals to collect points towards FIS or IPC rankings.
Adaptive athletes competing in the Winter Games range from the visually impaired, to those who can ski standing, to those who have had spinal injuries and use mono-skis.
