Sports are a unique roller coaster ride that we gladly stand in line for week after week. We sit down and buckle up because we never know what is going to happen. That’s the excitement of athletics: anything can happen. Let me give you the run-down every other week so those of you who have no idea what is happening can at least get a summary from a fanatic like me. You may be thinking, “but she’s a girl, she doesn’t know what is going on.” Yes, I am a girl, and yes I know what I am talking about.
The first Paralympic games were held in Rome, Italy in 1960. Four hundred athletes participated and came from over 20 countries. In order to be qualified to participate in the Paralympics, athletes have to have at least one of the following impairments:
- Impaired muscle power: reduced force generated by muscle or muscle groups
- Impaired passive range of movement: range of movement in one or more joints is reduced permanently
- Limb deficiency: total or partial absence of bones or joints
- Leg length difference: bone shortening in one leg
- Short stature: abnormal dimensions of bones of upper and lower limbs or torso
- Ataxia: lack of coordination in muscles due to neurological condition
- Athetosis: unbalanced, involuntary movements
- Visual impairment: vision is impacted by impairment of eye structure or optical nerves
- Intellectual impairment: a limitation in intellectual functioning that originates before 18
People always tune into the Olympics, whether it be the winter or the summer games, but the lack of coverage and attention to the Paralympics needs to change. These individuals defy all odds against them and succeed on a global front. There are paraplegic track stars and swimmers. There are impaired basketball players in wheelchairs and runners with prosthetic legs. They even have athletes who participate in triathlons and canoeing. The United States took home 40 gold medals, 44 silver medals and 31 bronze medals. China came in first in the overall medal count taking 239 total medals.
Courtesy: ESPN
The Paralympics are also an entirely different event from the Special Olympics. These two events vary in a variety of ways. The Special Olympics predominantly consist of competitors with intellectual disabilities, whereas the Paralympics consist of athletes who are mostly physically impaired. The Special Olympics also has a different system for competition. The athletes who participate in the Special Olympics are evaluated and put in groups where fair competition can be achieved. The Paralympics prides itself on elite competition, the best of the best.
The opening ceremonies for the Paralympics this year in Rio were spectacular. You can watch the highlights of the ceremony here. The first day of competition began on September 7, and the last day of competition was on September 18th. When looking at the United States and our athletes, there is one achievement that needs a spotlight. Women’s sitting volleyball team took home the gold for the first time, and it is also the first time any country has defeated China in sitting volleyball! That’s a bonus, on top of taking home the gold. Overall, there were over 4,000 athletes from over 160 countries. There are 528 medal events across 22 different sports including cycling, the triathlon, sitting and standing volleyball, wheelchair tennis and judo. You can check out video clips on Rio’s website.