The world focus is back on Tokyo, Japan. It was just yesterday that sportsmen from different countries of the world held us spellbound with their artistic and skilful displays as the Olympics brought together the very best the world could offer as able-bodied men and women competed for honours in 28 sporting events. What a spectacle we had except for the absence of spectators and fans, no thanks to the CoronaVirus.
Just like the Olympics, the Paralympic games kick-started some days back amid strict Coronavirus rules, as the event will be held behind closed doors with no public spectators and close monitoring of the over 4,500 participating athletes.
Badminton and Taekwondo will make their debut at the 2020 Paralympic Games. Boccia and Goalball are also unique to the Paralympics.
History Of Paralympics
Sir Ludwig Guttmann laid the idea of Stoke Mandeville Games for the Physically Challenged. The Games were held on the grounds of a hospital that treated injured war veterans. It featured 16 people competing in Archery.
The game grew into Paralympics and the first Paralympic Games took place in 1960 in Rome, featuring 400 athletes from 23 countries. The name “Paralympics” indicates an event happening in parallel, alongside the Olympics.
Paralympians with vision impairments used assistants while competing in a particular sport. For instance, guide runners are attached to Paralympians by a strap on their hands or arms and the athlete must finish ahead of the guide.
Tappers are used by visually impaired swimmers who tap the athlete’s head or body as they approach turns or the finish to keep them safe.
The Games which will run till 5th September 2021, is made up of 589 events in 22 sports.
Sports, as they say, does not know discrimination and the Paralympics, since its inception, has been a step forward in promoting inclusivity and unification through sports.
Design Of The Medals
Designed by Saklko Matsumoto, Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympics medals were constructed using recycled metals obtained through an electronics recycling programme.
They feature a traditional Japanese fan motif, depicting the Paralympic Games as the source of a fresh new wind refreshing the world, as well as a shared experience connecting diverse hearts and minds.
The pivot where the fan meets symbolises the unity of Paralympic athletes while the obverse of the medal contains an untextured version of the fan pattern, the Paralympic emblem and inscriptions in braille.
To aid athletes with visual impairments, the edges and ribbons of the medals contain one, two, or three circular indentations and silicone convex dots for gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively.
Criteria for Paralympics
Paralympics falls broadly into three categories– physical impairments, vision impairment and intellectual impairment. Within each category, athletes are assessed to see whether they meet a minimum impairment level, to ensure a fair playing field. They then compete in different categories within a given sport based on their particular impairment. Athletes may be reclassified over their lifetime as their situation changes.
Nigeria at the Games
Nigeria’s Paralympics team will be competing in the para-athletics, para powerlifting, power rowing and para table tennis with 22 athletes.
The Nigerian contingent is made up of many record-breaking athletes, such as Bose Omolayo, who has won seven gold medals and two silver medals in the past six years; Folashade Oluwafemiayo, who has nine gold medals and one silver medal to her credit; and Loveline Obiji, who has won nine gold medals and three silver medals.
The captain of the team, Lucy Ejike, has won a total of 16 gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal in over 20 years of her career as a para-athlete.
The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics is Nigeria’s 8th consecutive appearance since her maiden appearance at Barcelona 1992.
Nigeria’s team had their most successful outing at Rio 2016, finishing as Africa’s best team and 17th overall in the world on the medals table with eight gold, two silver and two bronze medals.
·Nigeria has claimed 58 medals at the Paralympic Games: G28-S16-B14.
By the time I come your way in the next edition of our magazine, we will be celebrating a large medal haul by Team Nigeria at the Paralympics, unlike the Olympics.
Follow the writer on Twitter and Instagram @woleopatola
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