The London Paralympics was a huge success. The coverage on television was good (well, better than the Olympics coverage here in Australia). There has been good highlights and also great stories of the athletes; like this video from CNN about war heroes and how sports has given them a new lease of life:
For some reason, I thought the opening and closing ceremonies of the Paralympics were brilliant too, more so than the Olympics. I mean the Olympics was good, but kinda ordinary. But the Paralympics was just so much more interesting. Not to mention the opening ceremony had Stephen Hawking! Just look at some of the photos from the closing ceremony. It's awesome. Alright, maybe I am just a little bit biased towards the Paralympics because my PhD stuff has been quite focused towards wheelchair sports and I got the chance to meet with and do some testing with the Australian athletes. But I am sure that is the case for anyone who has worked with or been involved in Paralympic sports one way or another. Anyway, the Australian team has done extremely well this year and especially the sports I was gunning for: the track events and wheelchair rugby. I like this nice little clip that explains the game of wheelchair rugby complete with some mind-blowing moves, definitely not for the faint hearted:
The Aussie wheelchair rugby team or the Steelers totally dominated the games from day 1. They played 5 games in total and won every game by at least 12 points. The most impressive thing is that even in the last quarter of each match, when they were already leading by more than 10 points, they were still going all out and making every effort to score the next point/block the opponents score attempts. No complacency. No holding back.
For some reason, I thought the opening and closing ceremonies of the Paralympics were brilliant too, more so than the Olympics. I mean the Olympics was good, but kinda ordinary. But the Paralympics was just so much more interesting. Not to mention the opening ceremony had Stephen Hawking! Just look at some of the photos from the closing ceremony. It's awesome. Alright, maybe I am just a little bit biased towards the Paralympics because my PhD stuff has been quite focused towards wheelchair sports and I got the chance to meet with and do some testing with the Australian athletes. But I am sure that is the case for anyone who has worked with or been involved in Paralympic sports one way or another. Anyway, the Australian team has done extremely well this year and especially the sports I was gunning for: the track events and wheelchair rugby. I like this nice little clip that explains the game of wheelchair rugby complete with some mind-blowing moves, definitely not for the faint hearted:
The Aussie wheelchair rugby team or the Steelers totally dominated the games from day 1. They played 5 games in total and won every game by at least 12 points. The most impressive thing is that even in the last quarter of each match, when they were already leading by more than 10 points, they were still going all out and making every effort to score the next point/block the opponents score attempts. No complacency. No holding back.
The Oz Steelers (photos from the london2012 website)
Some highlights from the gold medal match:
In the track event, Richard Colman, did an amazing race in the T53 800m. He had a great tactic - drafting for the first one and a half laps, conserving his energy for the final 200m burst. If you pay attention, you could kinda tell that he was staying behind intentionally, braking a little bit at several occasions in the first lap and checking back to see if the rest were catching up. Then he just surges forward at the last 150m and leads for the final 100m. Here's the youtube video of the race and Richard Colman is in lane 3 wearing yellow:
London T53 800m finals
I must say, this Paralympics has been quite phenomenal. The standard of the various sports have increased so much, with so many new world records, sometimes happening even in the heats, and then having another new one set again in the finals. There is a also lot more support and technology invested in the sports; and there is the explanation of classifications during different events which sheds so much light to home viewers and just makes the whole viewing experience so much better. So I think slowly people are becoming more aware of Paralympic sports and more are beginning to see that these Paralympians are not just disabled athletes, but elite athletes serious about doing well in their sport and even in life. They may not have been dealt with the best cards earlier in life but they sure are playing it to the best of their abilities and are all heroes and champs in their own right. Well, that's it for London, until the next time in Rio 2016!
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