This will be the 16th Paralympic Games, and also the second time that it’s being hosted in Tokyo.
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a series of international multisport events for athletes with a range of disabilities held after the Summer and Winter Olympics. Athletes eligible to compete are those who have a vision, physical and/or intellectual impairment with impaired muscle power, limb deficiency, impaired passive range of movement, short stature, difference in leg length, uncoordinated movement, muscle tension and involuntary movements.
The Paralympics began in 1948 as a small gathering of British World War II veterans and has since grown to become a major international sporting event. In 1960, there were just 400 athletes with disabilities from 23 countries. Today, there are thousands of competitors from over 100 countries.
In addition, the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea was the first Paralympic Games to officially be hosted at the same venue as the Olympic Games.
Athletes who are visually impaired are able to compete in a variety of events. For instance, there is athletics, where sprinters run with a guide.
In an interview, David Brown, the world’s fastest blind sprinter said that he doesn’t have to worry about going too far and that he just has to focus on listening to his guide, Jerome Avery.
Avery added that their actions have to be exact and that they must hit the ground at the same time. He also mentioned that he and Brown should look like one person running.
There’s also cycling, where a sighted pilot is in front, and the visually impaired rider is behind on a Tandem bike. Equestrian, swimming, sailing and Judo are other events hosted at the Summer Paralympic Games. In the rowing event, there can be up to two rowers who have a vision impairment in a mixed cox four boat. Additionally, there is football (five a side), where all players are visually impaired and wear eye shades except for the goalkeeper, who is sighted. Another similar event is goalball, where all players are visually impaired and wear eye shades.
Furthermore, sighted guides for athletes with visual impairments play such an essential role in the competition that both the athlete and their guide are seen as a team. In fact, they train just as hard as the athlete in order to keep up with them. Avery was a former sprinter for the USA and is now the sighted guide for Brown, who is currently the world’s fastest blind sprinter. In 2012, these guides and sighted goalkeepers became eligible to also receive their own medals.
In the 1984, Trinidad and Tobago made its debut at the Summer Paralympics held in Stoke Mandeville and New York.
Out of the eight Trinbagonian athletes, Rachael Marshall was able to secure two gold and one bronze medal. History was also made years later when Carlos Greene, the blind powerlifting champion, competed in the shot put and discus events at the 2012 London Paralympics.
Although he placed 11th in both events, he became the country’s first athlete with a vision impairment to compete at the Paralympic Games. In an interview around that time, he said “It’s an honour. I feel proud to walk through an airport wearing the red, white and black.”
Like Greene who wasn’t born blind, Paralympic swimmer, Brad Snyder, lost his sight during his deployment in Afghanistan in 2011. He stepped on an improvised explosive device. In an interview he mentioned that someone pointed out that he was lucky to be injured in 2011, which was the year leading up to the London 2012 Paralympics where he won gold.
Being an athlete, especially one with a vision impairment, requires a large amount of hard work. Along with having a disability, they also have to deal with society’s limiting views of what they can and cannot achieve. One US athlete who is blind stated that she’s in the gym training five days a week, and each day requires dedication, modifications and nerves of steel. She also said, “Stepping into the role of “athlete” allows me to step out of an identity of blindness that society has projected on me, and into a version of myself that challenges stereotypes and motivates others to push through their own limitations and realise they can achieve their dreams with hard work and relentless determination.”
This column is supplied in conjunction with the T&T Blind Welfare Association,118 Duke Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad. Email: ttbwa1914@ gmail.com, Phone: (868) 624-4675 WhatsApp: (868) 395-3086 Facebook: Trinidad and Tobago Blind Welfare Association 1914