With all the recent media coverage of the London 2012 Olympics, it might be easy to forget that the Paralympics are also held in London in 2012 at the same venues.  On August the 28th next year, the 24-hour Paralympic Torch Relay begins, with teams of five carrying the flame to the Olympic Stadium in London to light the Cauldron at the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic games.

In 1960 Rome became the first country to organise games similar to the Olympics for disabled athletes, but it wasn’t until 1976 in Toronto that different disability groups were merged together in one international sports competition.  At the Beijing Paralympics in 2008 there were nearly 4000 athletes from 146 different countries, and next year athletes will compete in 20 different sports including cycling, shooting, sailing, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair football and wheelchair basketball.

Looking set to win some Paralympic medals in 2012, the GB men’s wheelchair basketball team triumphed at the European Wheelchair Basketball Championship in September winning gold, with the women’s team taking home the bronze.  Also looking to succeed is the GB male sitting volleyball team, who secured their place in the Paralympic games at the European Championships in Rotterdam.  A very similar sport to standing volleyball, sitting volleyball is not played in wheelchairs and to qualify only 2 out of the 12 players can have what they term as ‘minimal disability’.

The amazing Martine Wright, who lost her legs in the 7/7 bombings is soon to join the women’s sitting volleyball team, describing it in a Radio 5 interview as “a rare opportunity, a huge opportunity that I never, ever dreamed of when I had legs” (BBC News).  Wright continued, “No one should underestimate the power of sport as a rehabilitation tool”(BBC News) that helps to give people back the confidence and sense of purpose they may have lost and even, like Martine, enabling them to do things they never would have believed they could do before.

For Paralympic road cyclist Rachel Morris, her training actually helps her cope with the acute pain of her unusual condition Reflexive Sympathetic Dystrophy, which led to the amputation of both her legs.  Using her hands to cycle the bike, Morris is of course aiming for Gold.  However, advocates of the games encourage people to focus on the athletes’ achievements and not their disabilities. Check out the Official Website of the Paralympic Movement for more information on games, athletes and events, including the Paralympics.

With 1.14 million tickets soon to be allocated on November the 18th, organisers are confident that the stadiums will be full of spectators cheering the GB Paralympic teams to victory.  If you didn’t manage to get tickets, never fear, you can always try and get some for the Russian Winter Paralympics in 2014!

Image : Stuart Grout