Along with the Olympics, there is another event linked to it called as Paralympics.
Paralympics is a sport that involves 6 different disability groups. Includes – athletes with cord injuries, Les Autres, visual impairment, amputees, and cerebral palsy. Paralympics is of two types – Summer and Winter played in the gap of 2 years. Also Paralympics 2020 made a huge appreciation for India.
Even Paralympics include the various sports same as the Olympics, such as – biathlon, cross-country skiing, etc
Since the last 20th century, the Paralympics has been conducted in the same country.
The athletes of various disabilities are further divided into various classes. Depending on the type of extent and depth of their disability. But the rewards are also different.
Since the first Paralympics, the quality of the Paralympic Games has increased over the past few years. Paralympics hosted 400 athletes from 20 different countries participating in 8 different sports just after 50 years. Later in the summer of 2012, the Paralympics were conducted in London with more than 4200 athletes representing 164 countries in 20 different Sports.
India in Paralympics
India and Indian athletes made their debut in the year 1968 in the summer Paralympics at Tel Aviv.
In the year 1968, only 10 para-athletes participated. Also Swimmer Murali Kant Petkar got the first gold medal for India. At the same time even set a world record the time of 37.331 seconds in 500 m freestyle swimming.
Later in the year 1984, it was Joginder Singh Bedi who won a silver medal in the men’s shot put. He became the first multi medalist Paralympic from India.
Values of Paralympics
The International Paralympic Committee has set 4 values for every athlete which are courage determination inspiration and equality.
Various education themes is the key for every paralympian’s success.
Also some of them are as below –
- They should have the joy of effort in sports and physical activity
- One should always have a fair play
- One athlete should always respect the other athlete
- One athlete should always have a balance between excellence and body will and mind.
Sports always teach the core values to a human such as a discipline in a person, perseverance, and respect for one another.
The symbol of the Paralympics represents ” spirit in Motion” which represents the will of every athlete.
Tokyo Paralympics 2020
This event was held from 24 Aug to 5 September in the city of Tokyo in Japan. International Paralympic Committee (IPC) organized 16th Paralympian Games.
This event had featured 538 medal events in various 22 sports. While new sports like badminton and taekwondo made their debut by replacing football-7-a-side and sailing.
The top performers of Paralympics 2020 are –
1. China- 96 gold medals and a total of 207 medals.
2. Great Britain stood second on the chart with 41 gold medals and 124 total medals.
Preparation for Paralympics 2020
The event required big and very detailed preparation along with various measures due to the spread of covid 19.
The governor of Tokyo, did his best to improve the accessibility of the city by maintaining the narrow roadways and building structures.
Recycled metals is key product of Medals. Electronics recycling program is the process for medals making.
For the specially-abled athletes, the edges, as well as the ribbons of the medals, contain various indentations.
Daniel Romanchuk, a gold medalist in the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo and a bronze medalist in the men’s marathon, won the Boston Marathon’s men’s wheelchair race Monday, securing his second victory there. He finished in 1 hour 26 minutes 58 seconds. https://t.co/xjQfSp5PSL pic.twitter.com/HqG1E5lzCd
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 18, 2022
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