In the Toronto Globe & Mail, Canadian athlete Rick Hansen says the Paralympic Games have made great progress since he won six medals for wheelchair racing in 1980 and 1984.

He cites improvements in training, equipment and sponsorship, but acknowledges that “it’s going to be a difficult challenge” to bring broader acceptance to the Games. An excerpt from the interview with Sarah Hampson:

“Exposure is key,” he says. The sports are “not about fragility,” he says, cautioning me not to be romantic by thinking that a disabled person’s participation in sport is a way to restore faith in a broken body. “It’s just great competition.”

His philosophy is evident in everything he says: Dwell not on what you don’t have, or can’t have; focus on what you have and are able to do …

“Usually the biggest demon is not out there,” he says, gesturing to the world outside his window. “It’s what is inside your head.”

Hansen raised $26 million for spinal cord research and awareness through a 34-nation wheelchair tour shortly after his Paralympics victories, and will soon kick off a new global initiative with a target of $200 million.

Earlier posts here.

Vancouver Sun columnist Miro Cernetig reacts to the decision by CTV not to broadcast the opening ceremonies of the Paralympic Games across Canada. The Canadian television network subsequently reversed itself and broadcast the ceremonies, but only in British Columbia.

Cernetig urges network executives to “rectify their unfortunate slight of the world’s Paralympians” by broadcasting the closing ceremony. Excerpts follow:

If the job is to shoot yourself in the foot, look hard-hearted and show you don’t quite get the true spirit of the Olympics, CTV’s bean-counters take the gold.

… We don’t put the Olympic cauldron on half-burn for Paralympians.

Nobody is pretending the Paralympics is a TV mega-event on the scale of the Olympics. There are no celebrity Paralympians raking in the millions or pro athletes dipping their toes into amateur sport to go for the gold.

But when it comes to stories of human tenacity, athleticism and sheer grit, most of us agree the Paralympians deserved — even for a half-hour of prime time — the national spotlight as they marched into BC Place.

Some video coverage of the Paralympic Games can be found at Paralympic Sport TV here.

(Reuters photo of the opening ceremony from the Vancouver Sun)

From the [UK] Telegraph:

UK academics and prominent disability sports advocates are criticizing the absence of a concrete policy to raise disability awareness and advance social change at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

According to a survey commissioned by London 2012, about 69 per cent of respondents could not name a Paralympian. Sixty-nine per cent of those surveyed said they would like to see more media coverage of Paralympic events.

[The nation's most decorated Paralympic athlete, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson], believes the public’s lack of understanding may be holding back not just the sport, but the disability aspects of the Games.

The Paralympics are a sporting – and political – movement for those living with disabilities. Grey-Thompson said: “Awareness and education, and a move towards social change and widespread acceptance have to be the key aims, along with developing a sporting structure for the future…”

Advocates are calling for increased media coverage and more community and school opportunities for Paralympic sports.

On the eve of the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, editors of the Green Bay [WI] Press Gazette salute 16-year-old Jonathan Heider (left), who has set his sights on competing in the 2012 Paralympics. Heider was born without arms or legs. An excerpt:

The ADA has had its share of critics. There always was a fear that employers would pass on an applicant because of the perceived costs of accommodating a disability. Some disabilities are not as visible as others, and so the need for accommodation might be questioned.

But on balance, raising awareness of these issues has contributed greatly to American society, and finding ways to maximize people’s abilities has improved countless lives. As we remove more barriers, we likely will find more Jonathan Heiders ready to fulfill remarkable dreams.

See also: ‘We must uphold ADA’ — Port Huron [MI] Times Herald

From the New York Times:

The Supreme Court Monday declined to hear an appeal filed by three Paralympic athletes against the United States Olympic Committee. The athletes had sued the USOC for providing different benefits packages for Olympians and Paralympians, who are by definition disabled.

Lower courts had ruled that the USOC had not violated federal antidiscrimination law in funding the groups differently.

The USOC has more than tripled funding for Paralympic athletes since the case was filed in 2003.

See earlier post here.

From the New York Times:

Heba Said Ahmed (left) won a gold medal for power lifting at the recent Paralympic Games in Beijing, and broke a world record.

But when she left Beijing and returned home to Egypt, Ahmed once again faced a society that views her as a second-class citizen because she cannot walk, a disability caused by a childhood bout of polio. An excerpt:

“I want to prove to society that I am better than what they think of me,” she said. “In Egypt, they think a handicapped person should just stay in bed.”

It is hard to overstate how different Ms. Ahmed is from many of those around her. It is all about attitude. Egypt is filled with people who face adversity, most often a function of poverty and systemic indifference. It is a class-based society with an unwritten contract that many people believe condemns them to live as they were born, poor and marginalized. There is a pervasive feeling of impotence, a collective belief that fighting back is futile.

But Ms. Ahmed never refers to fate; she talks about choices. She does not talk about obstacles; she talks about challenges.

… “There is no such thing as a handicap,” she said. “A handicap is in your thinking, or in your heart.”

From BBC, Irish Times, and elsewhere:

Irish soccer player and long-time Paralympian Derek Malone has been excluded from this year’s Paralympics because he was judged to be “not disabled enough” to compete.

The Paralympics Council of Ireland has complained about the decision and asked for clarification on how it was reached. They said Malone had been assessed by a neurologist before the games who ruled that he fitted the criteria to participate.

Malone, who has cerebral palsy, said he believed he was being penalized because he trained too hard.

(BBC photo)