At the Paralympic Games, difference is strength
Ugandan Husnah Kukundakwe and Mexican Amélia Perez, August 22, 2021 © Farid Achache
Text by: Farid Achache Follow
5 mins
The Paralympic Games, which open on Tuesday, August 24, will see 4,400 athletes compete in 22 sports.
Most of them will be held in camera.
But that will not prevent the athletes from believing in their dream of a medal and celebrating the difference together.
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Tokyo, from our special correspondent
“
I wanted to be Jordan's successor and become the best basketball player in the world,
” laughs American Matt Stutzman.
Born without arms, he uses his legs and feet for several daily activities.
In Tokyo, the Kansa City native will be present to shoot archery.
“
You have to live your life and not be afraid of anything.
That's what I'm trying to teach my youngest son,
”he laughs.
From archery to wheelchair tennis, medals will be up for grabs in 22 sports, including two new ones this year, taekwondo and badminton.
While most sports have an Olympic equivalent, two are exclusive to the Paralympic Games: goalball, a team sport for athletes with visual impairments, and boccia, which is similar to petanque.
“
When you have a dream, you have to do everything to make it come true.
I am happy, I love my life.
Sport makes me happy and that's the main thing
, ”says Italian fencer Bebe Vio, very popular in her country, who practices foil.
At the age of 11, she suffered from meningitis both legs and both forearms.
Bebe Vio, who presented a TV show on the public channel Rai, just regrets this closed session which prevents her family from coming to support her.
Except that the smile of the one who is three times European champion and the reigning world, says a lot about her desire to bite into life to the fullest without worrying about the next day.
Go beyond your own limits
“
Everything is in order, well organized and I can't wait to get started. I try to do my best without taking the disability into account. I am very proud to be surrounded by such different and inspiring people,
”says the German Markus Rehm, Paralympic champion in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. His practice in the long jump has earned him the first disabled athlete. to have won a title in the able-bodied in 2014 with a mark at 8.24 meters. His candidacy was refused for the Rio Olympics with the able-bodied in 2016. The researchers estimated that his prosthesis "
improves his jumping technique
". In Poland, during the 2021 European Parasport Games, he jumped 8.62 meters.
“Sport brings so much,”
says Amélia Perez.
With sport we live, we dream and we improve our health.
In life, we can always go beyond our own limits.
We must respect the life of each of the human beings who inhabit our planet
”.
The 44-year-old Mexican has been a five-time Paralympic weightlifting champion.
No longer be afraid of the gaze of the other
At the Paralympic Games, the event categories are organized around ten types of physical, visual and intellectual disabilities recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Eight of them are physical, such as impaired muscle power or involuntary movements caused by conditions like cerebral palsy or spinal cord injury. Muscle tension, short stature, and partial or complete absence of a limb from birth, or as a result of trauma or illness, are also on the list.
“
When I play sports, I don't care what people think about my disability.
Today I know that I inspire people and that makes me proud.
Believing in yourself is the most important thing,
”concludes young Ugandan swimmer Husnah Kukundakwe, happy to be at the center of Paralympic history.
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Paralympic Games 2021