As time moves into March, less than 5 months have passed since the opening of the Tokyo Olympics.

In the shadow of the epidemic, the prospect of the Tokyo Olympics has once again attracted worldwide attention.

As for the Tokyo Paralympic Games, which is closely related to its fate, some specific details of the holding are still to be finalized.

Data map: The venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

　　At the same time, the Beijing Winter Olympics and the Paralympics are getting closer.

March 4 is the first anniversary of the countdown to the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games, and preparations for the event are proceeding steadily and orderly.

Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee, said in an interview with expectation that the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games will surely bring surprises to the world.

　　In fact, there is no shortage of wonderful performances and legendary stories for disabled athletes on the field.

　　In recent years, sports for the disabled have developed rapidly, and more and more people are paying attention to this unfortunate but exceptionally strong group.

However, many people's understanding of the Paralympic Games only stays in the concept of the "Paralysic Olympic Games" itself.

In fact, the hidden story behind it is far more exciting than they thought.

Doctor Goodman

　　In 1948, more than three years have passed since the end of World War II, but the trauma of the war was far from healed.

　　Mandeville is a small village in Buckinghamshire, England. There is the National Spinal Cord Injury Center here. Some soldiers wounded in World War II recuperate here.

Many of them have injured their spine on the battlefield, and will spend the rest of their lives with a wheelchair.

Data map: Wenlock (left), the mascot of the London Olympics, and Mandeville, the mascot of the Paralympics.

　　Doctor Goodman is the director here. He was born in Germany and witnessed the ravages of war on mankind with his own eyes.

Goodman realized that it is not only necessary to treat these people's injuries, but also to enable them to return to society. "Sports" is a good way.

　　On July 29, 1948, local time, the London Olympics was officially unveiled, and the eyes of the world were focused on the Olympic athletes.

On the same day, in Mandeville, dozens of kilometers away, the Stoke-Mandeville Disabled Sports Competition was held. At that time, 16 disabled soldiers in wheelchairs participated. This was the source of inspiration for the Paralympics.

　　In 1960, two weeks after the Rome Olympics, about 400 disabled athletes from 23 countries and regions came to Rome to participate in the 9th International Stoke-Mandeville Games.

　　This Games was later recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the first "Parallel Olympic Games", and Dr. Goodman was later called the "Father of the Paralympics."

On August 28, 2012, "Father of the Paralympic Games" Lu Goodman's daughter Yi Lefle gave a speech at the ceremony.

That night, the London Paralympic torch lighting ceremony and torch relay were held in Mandeville, the birthplace of the Paralympic Movement.

Xinhua News Agency reporter Hou Jun photo Source: Xinhuanet

　　The time came to 1980, when the Summer Olympics were held in Moscow.

However, the Soviet response to the Paralympic Games was not positive at the time.

In the end, the Netherlands successfully bid for the Paralympic Games through the Dutch Disabled Sports Association, and held the Paralympic Games in Arnhem in 1980.

　　Earlier this year, Dr. Goodman unfortunately passed away.

In an interview, Dr. Goodman’s daughter Y-Leffler recalled that her father had exhausted all her energy for the patient’s recovery before her death, and she even thought that the death of her father at that time might not be a bad thing.

Some things have changed, but some are still the same

　　At the opening ceremony of the Arnhem Paralympic Games, everyone observed a minute of silence for Dr. Goodman.

Y-Leffler attended the opening ceremony, and beside her was an athlete with severe cerebral palsy.

The athlete could not speak. There was a board in front of him. Pointing to the letters on the board, he struggled to spell out a sentence: "He is a great man."

　　The Olympic Games held in the same year became a gray memory in the history of the Olympics.

If the Paralympics embodies the spirit of continuous self-improvement of athletes and the yearning for peace of all mankind, in contrast, the more valued Olympics have been split due to various reasons, and I have to say it is an alternative. The irony.

In order to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, many countries led by the United States boycotted the Moscow Olympics.

The picture shows several spectators holding up the American flag in the stands at the opening ceremony of the Moscow Olympic Games.

　　After the Seoul Paralympic Games in 1988, the International Olympic Committee decided that the Summer Olympics and Paralympics must be held in the same city.

In 2000, the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee signed an agreement stipulating that cities bidding for the Olympic Games must also bid for the Paralympic Games.

　　After all, 64 years after the 1948 London Olympics were held, the modern Olympics came to London again.

And also 64 years later, the Stoke-Mandeville Games has already become an official Paralympic Games.

　　Matt Stazman, the "armless shooter" from the United States, is a legend among disabled athletes.

He was born without arms and used his feet to draw a bow to shoot arrows.

At the London Paralympic Games, he won the open silver medal for the compound bow in archery.

On September 3, 2012 local time, American player Matt Stazman participated in the men's archery competition at the London Paralympic Games.

　　He once recalled: "(The opening ceremony) the Iraqi team was only half a metre away from us. Our team also had people injured in Iraq. The world should see more of this."

　　Compared to 1964 and 1980, some things in this world have changed, but some things have remained the same.

No matter what role people play in a war, in the end, humanity as a whole will become a victim of war.

Summer and winter

　　Tatiana McFadden was born in St. Petersburg in the 1980s with a disability at birth.

Her biological mother could not raise her, so she was sent to an orphanage.

There, Tatyana didn't have a wheelchair, and all actions could only rely on her hands.

　　After living in an orphanage for six years, she was adopted by an American family and came to the other side of the ocean.

After ten operations, the shrunken legs can be straightened.

Although the doctors felt that she would not live long, Tatyana showed great vitality.

Tatiana won the 2015 Lawrence Athlete of the Year with Disabilities.

Image source: Lawrence World Sports Awards official blog.

　　From the moment she came into contact with the racing wheelchair, she found her way.

　　Every week, Tatyana has to train 190 kilometers, which is almost all done by her two arms.

At the beginning of school, the teacher asked the children to write down their goals. The last goal Tatyana wrote was to participate in the Athens Paralympic Games in 2004.

　　In the end, she fulfilled her childhood dream.

At the Athens Paralympic Games, she waved and smiled shyly at the camera. This smile was broadcast to the world through television.

　　Tatyana is one of the greatest players in the history of the Paralympics.

At the London Paralympic Games, she won 4 golds and 2 silvers in the wheelchair racing arena.

What is even more shocking is that she also achieved success at the Paralympic Winter Games.

　　The Paralympic Winter Games was born in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden in 1976, and many competitions are full of challenges.

For example, in the super-giant slalom skiing event that the visually impaired athletes participate in, the athletes adjust the direction based on the instructions issued by the guide in the radio system. The difficulty can be imagined.

Data map: The closing ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Paralympic Games was grandly held.

　　In 2014, the Paralympic Winter Games came to Sochi, Russia.

For Tatyana, coming here to participate in the Paralympics is of special significance.

　　She won the silver medal in the cross-country skiing event. In the final, her biological mother came to watch the race.

Such memories may be more precious than rankings.

　　Tatiana, who returned to the summer arena still dominating, won 4 golds and 2 silvers at the Rio Paralympics.

However, just before the opening of the Rio Paralympic Games, there were rumors that the Paralympic Games were in crisis because of the embezzlement of part of the Paralympic Games funds.

　　Fortunately, in the end, the rumored "crisis" did not become a reality. The light of the sacred flame that inspired generations of disabled people is still inheriting the determination and courage to change the destiny of mankind.

Data map: The opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Brazil was held in Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã Stadium.

　　For the upcoming Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, with the slogan "United by Emotion", there is a paragraph in the official explanation: Even though we are so different, when we see the courage of athletes facing challenges When you are with strength, you will also have tears in your eyes, smile on your face, and clenched fists. Let's cheer and move your heart.

　　This summary of the Paralympic history is so apt-even if they are so different, in this arena, they can find their value and once again be able to embrace all the beauty in this world.

(Wang Hao)