Every two years we hoover around our televisions, to watch our athletes parade into the stadium as they begin their quest to bring home an Olympic gold medal. From the summer games to the winter games, to volleyball to the ski jump, we watch our athletes rise to the occasion as others fall. The Olympics do not only bring a country together, but also the world. But with the excitement surrounding the games, we have a habit of forgetting about our disabled athletes. These athletes work just as hard but get no recognition for it.
It was not truly until the summer Olympics in London that America started to show significant interest in the Paralympics. Sir Phillip Craven, the president of the International Paralympic Committee commented in an interview for teamusa.org , “Following the success of London 2012, we said it was absolutely essential for the growth of the Paralympic Movement and the Paralympic Games that in the future years U.S audiences had a greater opportunity to watch some of the world’s best elite athletes in action.” The Paralympics have been around just as long as the Olympics that we all watch today, only the athletes have changed the games throughout the decades.
On the same day the Olympics started, back in London of 1948, the Stroke-Mandeville Games for the paralyzed began. Over the next few years the number of participants increased, the number of competitions increased and the number of nations participating increased. The competitions continued to be evolved, moving away from the “medical” model of sports- for- rehabilitation, to the idea of elite sports played at the highest levels.
The first modern Paralympics games were held in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988. The following year, the International Paralympic Committee was established, as the games continue to change. The summer Paralympics are far bigger than the winter games, but that won’t stop our athletes that worked hard for their Olympic debut this coming March.
Most of us know the names of Shaun White, Jamie Anderson, Gracie Gold and Bode Miller, but no one really knows the names of Andy Soule, Steve Cash, Alana Nichols and Amy Purdy, all of who will represent the United States in the upcoming Olympic Games. Andy Soule was the first U.S athlete to win a biathlon medal (bronze) in either the Olympic or Paralympic games, in Vancouver 2010. Steve Cash did not allow a single goal to be made, in all five contests blocking a total of thirty-three shots. He hopes to defend the sled hockey’s gold medal in the 2014 games. Alana Nichols, who participates in alpine skiing took home two gold medals, a silver medal and bronze medal in the 2010 Vancouver games. Amy Purdy, who is favored to win a gold medal in Sochi, has won three back-to-back World Cup medals in snowboard cross.
Our Paralympics athletes deserve more recognition and applause then they currently receive. The things our athletes do are incredible; a Paralympic alpine skier can hit speeds of 65 miles per hour. Our disabled athletes are an inspiration to everyone because they don’t let tragedies get the best of them and they refuse to quit, even when the odds are against them. The United States Paralympic team has potential to break records and bring home many medals this coming March, so the most we can do is support our athletes as they make history in the 2014 winter games.
The Sochi Winter Paralympic Games will be held starting March 7-16, airing on NBC.