The Paralympics Thread, London 2012, 29th September - 9th August

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Bigmaclad

Bigmaclad

No mate
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So now the Olympics have finished we turn our attention to the Paralympics.

These games are more about showcasing extraordinary feats of willpower, ambition and strength than how many medals we get.

Over 2.1 million out of an available 2.5million tickets have been sold for these games, the highest in the Paralympics history, with it being the first games ever to be on British soil. The games will see 4,200 athletes from 165 nations descend upon London, featuring in a range of sports including Boccia (a little bit like Bowls) and Goalball to name a few of the lesser known sports. There will also be a comprehensive athletics schedule (which I am still trying to get tickets for!!), swimming, five-a-side football, and if you want to watch something that is brutal, you can watch people smash into each-other at incredible speeds in the Wheelchair Rugby.

The Paralympic Team GB are even better than the Olympic Team GB, and are expected to sweep the medal table. If you're looking for our medal chances, pretty much every event has them, with our swimming in particular being strong. One of the stand out, and probably most recognisable Paralympic Athletes for team GB is Eleanor Simmonds MBE. Last time out in Beijing, aged just 13, she brought home two gold medals in the 100m Freestyle (S6) and the 400m Freestyle (S6).

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For an Everton interest, Team GB will have Michael Barker featuring in their 7-a-side Football team. Michael was in Everton's academy alongside Wayne Rooney until a traffic accident in 1998 left him unsure whether he’d be able to pursue a career in the sport. He was selected for the Everton disabled team, and quickly proved his talent by working his way through the national rankings to claim a spot on the British team.

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Unfortunately the coverage is provided by Channel 4 instead of BBC, so expect to be seeing adverts during the coverage, however you will be able to get some BBC coverage courtesy of BBC Five Live and the online features.

Prepare to feel humbled and amazed by some of the things these people achieve.
 

I went to the Paralympic games in Sydney and it was actually amazing.

Seeing blind swimmers was an inspiration. Seeing the wheelchair rugby was just purely awesome.
 
Good write up BML

#Talent

Is it bad that I have no interest in watching this at all? I think it makes me a bad person. Not arsed though.
 

Bigmaclad said:
It's not bad, do take a look though mate, you'll be amazed.
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I'm not entirely sure how much I'll get into it, but when I thought back the things I liked best about the Olympics were the individual success stories, not so much the absolute best athletes. Seeing our gymnast lids get that unlikely bronze was far better than seeing the rowers get gold, for example. Seeing the judo girl look up and mouth to her mum after taking silver, far better than the horsey dancing gold rush.

And in terms of success stories and moving individual tales, you don't get much better than the Paralympics. All the things I've admired about Olympians are amplified even further with Paralympians.
 

RadioFriendlyUnitShifter said:
I'm not entirely sure how much I'll get into it, but when I thought back the things I liked best about the Olympics were the individual success stories, not so much the absolute best athletes. Seeing our gymnast lids get that unlikely bronze was far better than seeing the rowers get gold, for example. Seeing the judo girl look up and mouth to her mum after taking silver, far better than the horsey dancing gold rush.

And in terms of success stories and moving individual tales, you don't get much better than the Paralympics. All the things I've admired about Olympians are amplified even further with Paralympians.
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Trust me mate it's astonishing, there's people without arms swimming further than even I can! It's an eye opener that's for sure.

Look out for the football too, we have a few players that are blind, it's amazing what they can do.
 
I'm afraid I'm with Ijjy on this. I've no interest at all. I'm not saying that what the athletes do isn't amazing, but as a sporting spectacle I just can't get into it.
 

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