I'm not much of a runner. Frankly, I'm the opposite of a runner considering I've been a swimmer my whole life. This past summer, the opportunity arose to run a half marathon. I texted my friend to do it as a joke, and next thing I knew we were at the start line. We started running and about 6 miles in we weren't feeling too hot; which makes sense since our longest "training" run was only 6 miles. We got to mile 8 and a man in a wheelchair zoomed past us. My friend and I looked at each other with big eyes thinking, "that dude is crazy, how is he doing this?" There I was, complaining about my toes bleeding and that man did a whole 13.1 miles in a wheelchair. After that, I thought about what finishing this race means to me, and what it may mean to him. I think running any kind of race is bada** and the fact that this man did it in a wheelchair blew my mind. Paralympic athletes have truly tested determination, strength, and how far the love for a sport goes.
Disability does not put a cap on what disabled bodies, specifically, athlete's bodies, can and should be able to do.
Thousands of athletes are gearing up for the 2020 Paralympic Games. The main thing that draws in people to watch the Paralympic Games is how the athletes face adversity and adapt in order to make whichever sport they play work for them. The Paralympics are an outlet for disabled athletes to use their unique embodiments in a positive way. Sports are an outlet for a lot of people, whether it's playing them or watching them. However, the way we frame disability in sports is often overlooked. Are we watching the games to feel better about ourselves? Or to have a "feel good" moment? Or simply just to support them? Paralympic athletes do not want pity; according to Rebecca Meyers, a Paralympic swimmer, "We want admiration for our strength and determination, and we want you to share the joy that competitive sports give us and the unifying quality of the games." Being perfectly honest, I did feel a sense of pity after I saw the man in the wheelchair pass me at the half marathon. I could not imagine what kind of mental and physical barriers he had to overcome in order to be where he was that day. I think what Paralympic athletes would rather see in terms of support is simply seeing them as athletes first; and this frame of mind can be applied across the disabled population.
Are the Olympics and Paralympics different or similar in terms of being made a spectacle of? Around 3.6 billion people tuned in to the Rio 2016 Olympics; that's about half of the world's population. An even more crazy number, 4.1 billion people tuned into the Rio 2016 Paralympics, smashing all TV viewing records. A young Paralympian runner answers many of the questions I've asked here from his point of view. What stuck out to me was his idea of the Olympics and Paralympics. He talks about how the Olympics are more about winning, whereas when people tune into the Paralympics they are looking for stories and triumph. These two games are more connected than we think they are. The Paralympic athletes have done their part. They train just as hard as any other athlete and uphold any duties that any non-Paralympic athletes do, such as holding clinics. We need to see their accomplishments as comparable to the big names in Olympics like Michael Phelps. For example, one of the most decorated Paralympians of all time Trischa Zorn, doesn't motivate herself because of her disability, "My motivation lies in the fact that I truly love what I am doing." How is this different from any other athlete? As a society, we love putting people in boxes and fixating on why someone is different. The Paralympic Games break free from this construct. Yeah, Trischa Zorn has a vision impairment. But she also has won over 50 medals and was nominated for the Sports Illustrated Woman of the Year in 1988. Again, an emphasis that someone's being is not defined by their disability is needed. Our bodies are capable of so much more than we give them credit for; and Paralympic athletes are one of many examples of our bodies defying what's defined as "normal".
Is this way of thinking downplaying what it means to be disabled and to overcome challenges? I would hope not. If anything, it is acknowledging the fact that they are different and that this difference isn't the sole factor in being an extraordinary athlete.
The provision of sports displayed at the Paralympic level is one step towards a change in attitude towards disabilities. It is up to us now to give them equal recognition and support.
The point of this writing is so deeply thought. I like how you talked about how abled-bodied people view disabled athletes. The questions brought up were questions everyone can think about within themselves. Do you watch these athletes to make yourself feel better? People often use these athletes as motivational stories and turn it into their own personal motivation technique. Thank you for this actually!
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