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What Are the Paralympic Games? (What Was?)
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About What Are The Paralympic
Product Description It's time to cheer for the inspiring athletes of the Paralympic Games! As the Opening Ceremony for the 1948 Summer Olympic Games commenced in London, a similar sporting competition was taking place a few miles away. But the men at Stoke Mandeville weren't your typical athletes. They were paralyzed World War II veterans. The games at Stoke Mandeville were so successful that they would eventually lead evolve into the Paralympics. Participants from all around the world vie for the gold medal in a variety of sports, including archery, basketball, swimming, speed skating, and ice hockey. Author Gail Herman highlights their achievements, describes how these athletes train--both mentally and physically--for the games, and gives the reader a better understanding of what makes the Paralympic Games one of the world's most viewed sporting events. About the Author Gail Herman has written several biographies and nonfiction books, including Who Is Wayne Gretzky?, What Is the World Series?, What Is Climate Change?, and What Is the Stanley Cup? Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. What Are the Paralympic Games? It is a humid September evening in 2016. At the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, more than seventy thousand spectators fill the seats for the opening ceremony of the fifteenth Summer Paralympics. Seventeen days earlier, the closing ceremony for the Olympics took place here, too. The Olympics and the Paralympics both feature summer and winter games. Both are held every four years. And thousands of athletes from around the world gather to compete in both sets of games. There’s one real difference: At the Paralympics, the athletes have a range of disabilities—any conditions that somehow limit movement or activity. Some swim without arms, race without legs, or run without sight. The opening ceremony begins with a parade of athletes entering the stadium. Teams arrive from over 160 countries, each led by a flag-bearer. Some athletes are in wheelchairs, some have guides, and some wear prosthetics—artificial limbs. Speeches are given, and music is played. Performers take the stage. Then an announcement is made. “Ladies and gentlemen, the Paralympic flame!” After a relay across Brazil, the torch arrives. Marcia Malsar receives the torch just as it starts to rain. Water drenches Malsar, who must use a cane to cross the stage. She raises the flame above her head. Suddenly, she slips and falls. The torch drops to the ground. Immediately, Malsar gets to her feet. Someone holds out the torch. She takes it, smiling. The crowd roars with approval. So do the other athletes. They understand that when you fall, you just get up again. Now Marcia delivers the torch to the next in line. The cauldron is lit. Fireworks explode. Let the Games begin! Chapter 1: The Idea Forms The Paralympics began with one doctor’s vision: He believed that paraplegics—people who can’t move their legs or lower body—could lead full, useful lives. Many other doctors at the time didn’t think they could improve the health or well-being of people in wheelchairs, so they didn’t even try. During the years after World War II, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann saw hospitals filled with wounded soldiers, many with spinal cord injuries. At the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, Guttmann created workshops and classes designed to get the patients moving. One afternoon Guttmann jumped in a wheelchair to join patients hitting a puck with canes. Why not have team sports, too? he thought. Another day, he brought in bows and arrows for archery. Doctors in other hospitals soon adopted Guttmann’s program. And that gave Guttmann another idea: to host a sports competition between hospitals. In 1948, the first Stoke Mandeville Games for the Paralyzed took place. He chose the date with care: July 29. It was the same day as the opening ceremony of the Olympics in nearby London. Alrea
