Paralympics

Carlee Davis

What are the Paralympics? The paralympics is a series of international contests for athletes with disabilities that are associated and held the following summer of the winter and summer Olympic games (Marriam Webster). Typically these athletes who participate belong to six different disability groups, amputees, cerebral palsy, visual impairments, spinal injuries, intellectual disabilities and ones who do not fit into those specific groups. You might be thinking, these sports must be low profile, boring, not as exciting as the typical Olympics, but that is very mistaken. Every individual that participates in the Paralympics must go through a series of training, physical, technical, tactical and psychological skills. Just like every other athlete, these athletes need to create a strong body and mind to accomplish these goals. 

When researching these paralympics it almost seems they need to develop the same training regime as typical Olympic athletes. There is no doubt that these athletes need to aggressively train, rehabilitate, create a strong mind and persevere. According to this article by the National Library of Medicine, there are a number of physical, emotional, and physiological barriers when it comes to participation and training for this sports organization (National Library of Medicine). There is limited funding for sport clubs and training facilities for para-athletes. There have been multiple studies of training and coaching processes of non-disabled people, and they find it unclear whether those findings can correlate with para-athletes. Despite these findings there have been so many advocates and such a high profile in these sports that a Paralympic athlete and an Olympic athlete both get paid $37,500 for a gold medal, $22,500 for a silver medal and $15,000 for a bronze medal (NPR Sports). 

What are the differences between Para Athletes versus Olympic athletes? The Paralympics is often thought of as the Olympics sibling event because of the amount of number of participants. Around 11,500 athletes participated in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics compared to 4,500 participants from the Paralympics. According to Katharina Bucholz in the article Where the Paralympics Beat the Olympics, she states, “ considering the number of medal events and also the speed of some races, the Paralympics surpass the Olympics easily.” She also states, “The longer the distance of athletic races is, the faster Paralympic athletes are opposite Olympic athletes, especially those of the T53 and T54 wheelchair categories which are designed for athletes with limited function in their torsos and legs. In the men’s 400m race, the World Athletics record stands at 43.03 seconds, having Paralympic racers trail behind by some milliseconds. In the 800m race, wheelchair racers have already overtaken the World Athletics record time of 1 minute and around 41 seconds. U.S. Paralympian Daniel Romanchuk holds the Para Athletics world record over the distance with one minute and around 30 seconds. With increasing distance, the headway of Paralympic wheelchair racers increases. In the women’s marathon, for example, the T53/54 record stands at around one hour and 36 minutes, held by Swiss national Manuela Schaer. That is 38 minutes faster than the World Athletics record” (Paralympics Statista). This proves that these athletes are very much able to compete worldwide competitively, not just a charity case. 

The most successful para-athlete is Trischa Zorn from the United States of America. Trischa Zorn is an American Paralympic swimmer who has been blind since birth. Overall she is the most successful athlete in the history of Paralympics. She has won 55 medals, 41 gold medals, 9 silver medals, and 5 bronze. It is safe to say she has been disgustingly successful. Trishca Zorn was even awarded into the Paralympic Hall of Fame in 2012. Just like so many athletes and para-athletes Trischa found true love in a sport. In 1992 Tricha Zorn completed the W25-29 50 Back in 28.60 seconds, according to the fastest men’s 50m backstroke, Ari-Pekka Luikkonen held it at 22.30. However, after him, only 8 other Olympic athletes beat Trischa Zorns time. A list of almost 20 other male contests have a slower time than her (U.S. Masters Swimming). Not only does this prove Trishca’s hard work and talent has helped her succeed in the Paralympics, but she has surpassed male Olympic contestants times. This data shows that the “Paralympics” is just a category for disabled athletes. Yes she has a disability that causes her to work harder to see, but it does not limit her mental abilities nor her physical capabilities. 

The Paralympics represent more than just a competitive sports competition for ones with disabilities. It helps these athletes feel included and embody who they are and what they can accomplish. In this article by the Olympics, they define a para-athlete by stating, “A Paralympian is an athlete who competes in the Paralympic games. They’re athletes that have bodily differences and different types of disabilities. However, the Paralympian definition doesn’t even come close to explaining what defines them. A Paralympian is courageous. They have heart and soul to the core. Paralympians overcome obstacles that the average person will never understand. It’s hard enough to play a sport at an elite level. But when you have a physical disability, it’s 10 times harder. Every star athlete makes sacrifices for the sport they play” (Olympics). These athletes are getting all the praise they deserve. The amount of time, effort and resilience they put into being not only the best athlete and person they can be, but also overcoming their personal challenges and succeeding further than they could ever imagine helps and motivates younger kids with disabilities who believe they aren’t worthy and aren’t enough. These athletes show the world they are more than just a label and a stigma. They prove they can define themselves as whatever they want. These Paralympians signify courage, hard work, sacrifice, and inspiration. Both winter and summer para-athletes have amazing talents and have to go the extra mile to pursue their passion for sports (Welcome to the United Nations). 

References

Buchholz, K. (2021, August 24). Where the paralympics beat the olympics. Paralympia Statista. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/chart/25606/paralympics-olympics-comparison/

Gold, J. R., & Gold, M. M. (2007). Access for all: the rise of the Paralympic Games. The journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 127(3), 133–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/1466424007077348

The paralympic games and the promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities. (n.d.). Welcome to the United Nations. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/paralympic-games-and-promotion-rights-persons-disabilities

Top times/events rank search. (n.d.). USA Swimming. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from https://www.usaswimming.org/times/popular-resources/event-rank-search

Tricha zorn dedication. (n.d.). Paralympic.org. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from https://trischazorn.weebly.com/dedication.html

USMS top 10. (n.d.). U.S Masters Swimming. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from https://www.usms.org/comp/tt/toptenind.php?SwimmerID=02AH2

World athletics will pay $50,000 to olympic gold medalists in track and field events. (n.d.). NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/04/10/1243962306/olympics-gold-medal-prizes-track-and-field#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20Olympic%20and%20Paralympic,and%20Singapore%20offers%20about%20%24740%2C000.