Like many people, I’ve always seen the Olympics as
the "main" sporting event held every four years—the headline act—and the
Paralyrnpics as something of an "add-on"—the supporting act. It you are not
disabled yourself it is hard to understand some of the games and the athletes
mobility problems.
But being in the host city for these
Paralympics changed my perspective. I came to realize these athletes were
nothing short of superheroes. Deprived of physical abilities that able-bodied
people take for granted, they made up for them and then some. They tested their
senses and the boundaries of physical ability to extremes that the Bolts and
Phelpses of this world would never have to.
If some Olympic
runners had to undergo a double-amputation, I wonder if they would strap two
carbon fiber blades to their knees like Oscar Pistorius, also known as Blade
Runner, of South Africa, and relearn everything that once came
naturally.
If some Olympic swimming heroes suddenly went blind,
would they have the courage to still surge through the water like Donovan
Tildesley, not knowing when they would reach the end of the pool Would any of
us have the guts to turn around a life-changing experience like a car crash or
bad rugby scrum. And not only get our lives back on track but then strive to be
the best at a sport
"What Paralympic sport would you do if you
were disabled" was a water-cooler question I posed today. It’s not something
you would normally think about. You don’t watch TV as a kid aspiring to be a
Paralympian. But it takes more than early mornings, training programs and
special diets to get to the Paralympics. It takes a tragedy or loss that will
have been grieved over, worked through and overcome.
Skiing is
terrifying enough if you have all your faculties. Standing at the top of a ski
slope, it’s a battle of wills for most people to launch themselves, but Canada’s
Donovan Tildesley, who has been blind from birth, revealed to a China Daily
reporter that not only did he already ski, but he also wanted to take it up
competitively.
Superheroes indeed, each and every one. The
Paralympics should be renamed the "Superlympics". It’s nothing to do with the
equality denoted by the Greek "para", it’s about "super" ability, courage and
strength that most of us, the top able-bodied athletes of the world included,
will never have to muster.
It’s worth remembering that many
Paralympians suffered horrific injuries while living life to the full. You don’t
get paralyzed sitting at home playing video games. And having lived life to the
full they are not prepared to stop. That’s the lesser talked about "Paralympic
spirit".
I only hope that if life dealt me or my loved ones
similar blows we would tackle them in the same way as these outstanding men and
women.What does the author think of Paralympic athletes
