The history of the Paralympic Games is inextricably linked to war. It all began in 1948, in a military hospital located 60 km north of London, in Stoke Mandeville. Even as the Olympic Games are being held in London, a German neurologist, Sir Ludwig Guttmann, has the idea of organizing for his paraplegic patients, all veterans of the Second World War, the first "World Wheelchair and Amputee Games. ". His idea is simple: to accelerate the recovery of these veterans through physical practice.
Four years later, this sports movement is gaining momentum and going beyond the local level.
The first Stoke Mandeville International Games take place and grow year by year.
In 1960, the 9th edition, which is considered to be the first "Paralympic Games", was held in Rome, six days after the close of the Olympic Games, with 400 athletes from 23 countries.
In Tokyo, Sir Ludwig Guttmann's vision continues to live on.
During this 16th edition, veterans are still participating in the competition.
Most were wounded in operation during the war in Afghanistan.
Bruised in their flesh, they found the desire to live thanks to sport.
France 24 invites you to discover these exceptional destinies.
Alfredo De los Santos (United States): "My handicap has been a blessing"
Alfredo De los Santos during qualifying for the Paralympic Games on June 19, 2021 in Minneapolis. Getty Images via AFP - DAVID BERDING
Road cycling specialist Alfredo De los Santos is originally from the Dominican Republic. Immigrated to the United States, his life took a whole new turn following the attacks of September 11, he decided to join the American army to fight terrorism. Engaged in Afghanistan, a rocket hit his vehicle in 2009 in Helmand province. The soldier miraculously comes out of it, but he loses his right leg and suffers from head trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. "When I came back from Afghanistan, I had suicidal thoughts and I was afraid to talk about it," he said in an interview with Fox News. "I made do with it and didn't tell anyone about it. But it devoured me from the inside. It wasn't until I finally got help that I did.I was able to get better. "To regain a taste for life, he turned to cycling. His injury finally made him stronger." For me, my handicap was a blessing, "he prides himself on the official website of the International Paralympic Committee. "Sometimes when I say this people look at me like I'm crazy and ask me what I mean by that. I tell them that I am in the best shape of my life. I travel. Before, when something bothered me, I would go crazy. Now I don't think about it. I'll let it go. "“Sometimes when I say that, people look at me like I'm crazy and ask me what I mean by that. I tell them I'm in the best shape of my life. I travel. Before, when something is going on. bored me, I was going crazy. Now I don't think about it. I let it go. "“Sometimes when I say that, people look at me like I'm crazy and ask me what I mean by that. I tell them I'm in the best shape of my life. I travel. Before, when something is going on. bored me, I was going crazy. Now I don't think about it. I let it go. "
Eric McElvenny (United States): "I still represent the United States"
Eric McElvenny during a triathlon in Longbeach, July 20, 2019 © Sean M. Haffey / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
Eric McElvenny's life has also changed in the province of Helmand in Afghanistan. In December 2011, this member of the Marines was deployed with his unit to a village when he stepped on an explosive device. Evacuated by helicopter, he was finally amputated in his right leg. As he tells it on the Team USA website, the soldier then makes a promise to himself, that of completing an Ironman, an ultra-triathlon. He realized his bet two years later and turned into an international athlete. “When I was a Marine, I represented my country in uniform, under fatigues. Now that I can compete, I still represent the United States. It makes me feel like a kid. need to pinch myself. It's really happening ",he confides in the Post Gazette newspaper in Pittsburgh where he resides.
Bradley Snyder (United States): "Having a positive message"
Bradley Snyder after winning gold at the London Paralympic Games on September 7, 2012. AFP - LEON NEAL
Bradley Snyder has been swimming from a young age. For his studies, he joined the naval academy and then became a lieutenant in the Navy. While on a mission in Afghanistan, while trying to rescue his comrades after an explosion, he lost his sight when he stepped on an explosive device. His two eyes are replaced by prostheses. “After my injury, I knew my life would not return to normal. First, I was blind. Second, I could no longer practice my profession. Third, the foundations of your life, your career, your identity, of your family, everything is turned upside down after something like that ", he explains on the site of one of his sponsors. Bradley Snyder then turns to his first passion: swimming. One year later,he participated in the Paralympic Games in London and won two gold medals and a silver medal. Four years later, he did it again in Rio, winning three new gold medals and one silver. In Tokyo, he set himself a new challenge by participating in the triathlon: "It's important for me to send a positive message, to inspire people to go beyond their limits and say to themselves' You know What? Adversity is going to happen anyway, I have to be good to overcome it '. "it's important for me to send a positive message, to inspire people to go beyond their limits and say to themselves' You know what? Adversity is going to happen anyway, I have to be good to overcome it '. "it's important for me to send a positive message, to inspire people to go beyond their limits and say to themselves' You know what? Adversity is going to happen anyway, I have to be good to overcome it '. "
Kelly Elmlinger (USA): "I was grateful to all the men and women I had cared for"
Kelly Elmlinger at the Invictus Games in Toronto, September 24, 2017. AFP - GEOFF ROBINS
After graduation, Kelly Elmlinger enlisted as a nurse in the army. She served for 10 years in the legendary 82nd Airborne and went on three missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. The young woman was not injured in combat, but in 2013 she learned that she suffered from a rare form of cancer, synovial sarcoma. Doctors try to save his leg with several operations, but they end up amputating him. After years of caring for the war-wounded, the nurse finds herself in their place. "I was grateful to all these men and women I had cared for because they had shown me the way. I relied on my experience with them and it made me feel like everything would be fine," describes she on the Stars and Stripes site.Kelly Elmlinger then launched headlong into sport and triathlon, where she excelled until reaching the Paralympic Games. As the competition begins just as Afghanistan has just fallen back into Taliban hands, she does not fail to think of those who fought there: "It is important to honor and energize the veteran community. . The best thing I can do is share my story. "The best thing I can do is share my story. "The best thing I can do is share my story. "
Curtis McGrath (Australia): "What was the point of losing my legs
?"
Curtis McGrath during the Paralympic Games in Rio, September 15, 2016. AFP - YASUYOSHI CHIBA
Australia's Curtis McGrath is competing at the Paralympic Games for the second time. But five years after Rio, the atmosphere is less festive. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, this canoe specialist admits that he has had trouble sleeping in recent days. The former Australian army soldier has not found sleep since the capture of Kabul by the Taliban. Nine years ago, he was seriously injured by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan and lost both legs. For several days, the images coming from this country have made him relive this nightmare. "I was annoyed and angry at the start," said the gold medalist at the Rio Games. “We have trained and equipped 300,000 Afghans and it looks like they simply laid down their arms against the Taliban.So yes, at first I wondered if it had been worth it for the price paid in terms of money, life and limbs. "But on reflection, the ex-soldier has no regrets." could have been a school bus that would have driven over this improvised explosive device, if it hadn't been me. So I won't change anything. This is how I can justify my sacrifice. No matter what happens now, I know I made a difference. "So I won't change anything. This is how I can justify my sacrifice. No matter what happens now, I know I made a difference. "So I won't change anything. This is how I can justify my sacrifice. No matter what happens now, I know I made a difference. "
Stuart Robinson (Great Britain): "Do normal things like any father"
Stuart Robinson catches the ball at the Invictus Games in Toronto on September 27, 2017. Getty Images via AFP - CLAUS ANDERSEN
It was during his fourth mission in Afghanistan that Stuart Robinson's vehicle was bombarded in Helmand province in 2013. After eight weeks in a coma, the young man wakes up and learns that he has lost his two legs. During his rehabilitation, he discovered wheelchair rugby and participated in the Invictus Games, a multisport competition for wounded and disabled soldiers and war veterans created by Prince Harry. "The Invictus did the job for me. They made me mobile again and opened my eyes to disabled sport," he told The Lancashire Post. His talent was noticed and he quickly became one of the pillars of the British team. "I wanted to show my children that they didn't have to worry about me",he told the Daily Mail. "I also wanted to show them that I could do normal things like any father."
Jaco van Gass (Great Britain): "Wouldn't it have been better for me to die?"
Jaco van Gass (left) with Prince Harry, himself a former veteran, at the Invictus Games, May 9, 2016. Getty Images via AFP - CHRIS JACKSON
Jaco van Gass was born in South Africa, but he joined England at the age of 20 to follow his dream of joining the British Army. Engaged in Afghanistan, he was wounded in 2009 by grenade fire. He loses his left arm, his lung is damaged, his knee fractured and he has to undergo 11 operations. The awakening is painful, as he summed it up with the official website of the Paralympic Games: "It took me a good month and a half to understand the mental aspect of what had happened to me. And you ask yourself. the question: why did I survive? What happened to me? Wouldn't it have been better for me to die? Those kinds of questions. And then you realize that there is a reason what happened to you. You don't know why but it is becoming clearer and clearer. " THE'former soldier has to relearn everything, but he is passionate about cycling. He even attended the London Paralympic Games in 2012: “Seeing all this crowd and how inspiring it was convinced me that I wanted to be one of those sportsmen, that this was what I really wanted to do. wanted to be on the pitch and more in the stands. " Nine years later, it was his turn to participate in the competition. Jaco van Gass does not lack resources and multiplies all kinds of adventures. He climbed the summit of the Grand Paraiso in Italy, rode the 1,200 km of the Carretera Austral in Patagonia, Chile, in 2016, and also completed the Race Across America (crossing the United States by bicycle, east in the West) in six days with other cyclists in 2017.He even attended the London Paralympic Games in 2012: “Seeing all this crowd and how inspiring it was convinced me that I wanted to be one of those sportsmen, that this was what I really wanted to do. wanted to be on the pitch and more in the stands. " Nine years later, it was his turn to participate in the competition. Jaco van Gass does not lack resources and multiplies all kinds of adventures. He climbed the summit of the Grand Paraiso in Italy, rode the 1,200 km of the Carretera Austral in Patagonia, Chile, in 2016, and also completed the Race Across America (crossing the United States by bicycle, east west) in six days with other cyclists in 2017.He even attended the London Paralympic Games in 2012: “Seeing all this crowd and how inspiring it was convinced me that I wanted to be one of those sportsmen, that this was what I really wanted to do. wanted to be on the pitch and more in the stands. " Nine years later, it was his turn to participate in the competition. Jaco van Gass does not lack resources and multiplies all kinds of adventures. He climbed the summit of the Grand Paraiso in Italy, rode the 1,200 km of the Carretera Austral in Patagonia, Chile, in 2016, and also completed the Race Across America (crossing the United States by bicycle, east west) in six days with other cyclists in 2017.Seeing all this crowd and how inspiring it was convinced me that I wanted to be one of those sportsmen, that this was what I really wanted to do. I wanted to be on the pitch and more in the stands. "Nine years later, it's his turn to compete. Jaco van Gass does not lack resources and multiplies all kinds of adventures. He has climbed the summit of Grand Paraiso in Italy, rode the 1,200 km Carretera Austral in Patagonia, Chile, in 2016, and also completed the Race Across America (crossing the United States by bike, from east to west) in six days with other cyclists in 2017.Seeing all this crowd and how inspiring it was convinced me that I wanted to be one of those sportsmen, that this was what I really wanted to do. I wanted to be on the pitch and more in the stands. "Nine years later, it's his turn to compete. Jaco van Gass does not lack resources and multiplies all kinds of adventures. He has climbed the summit of Grand Paraiso in Italy, rode the 1,200 km Carretera Austral in Patagonia, Chile, in 2016, and also completed the Race Across America (crossing the United States by bike, from east to west) in six days with other cyclists in 2017.is his turn to participate in the competition. Jaco van Gass does not lack resources and multiplies all kinds of adventures. He climbed the summit of the Grand Paraiso in Italy, rode the 1,200 km of the Carretera Austral in Patagonia, Chile, in 2016, and also completed the Race Across America (crossing the United States by bicycle, east west) in six days with other cyclists in 2017.is his turn to participate in the competition. Jaco van Gass does not lack resources and multiplies all kinds of adventures. He climbed the summit of the Grand Paraiso in Italy, rode the 1,200 km of the Carretera Austral in Patagonia, Chile, in 2016, and also completed the Race Across America (crossing the United States by bicycle, east west) in six days with other cyclists in 2017.
Micky Yule (Great Britain): "It is not because I was injured in Afghanistan that I am ready to be scrapped"
Micky Yule shows his muscles at the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in Orlando on May 12, 2016. AFP - STEPHEN M. DOWELL
Of Scottish origin, Micky Yule joined the British Army at the age of 17. In March 2010, while on patrol, he was struck by an improvised explosive device. “It was a patrol as usual, but this time I was unlucky. When I stepped on the mechanism, I activated the explosive charge which took my left leg instantly and which left the right in a mess, "he recalls on the Help for Heroes site. The young soldier is finally amputated of both legs. Before this injury, Micky Yule was already weightlifting. It is therefore quite naturally towards this sport that he turned during his rehabilitation. He goes on to international competitions and participates in the Paralympic Games in Rio: "If you do something,why not become the best in the world in this discipline? That's what I'm trying to do right now. When I prepare to lift weights, I want to show everyone that the work pays. I also want to show that just because I was injured in Afghanistan doesn't mean I'm ready to be scrapped. "
Tim Focken (Germany): "I was lucky to survive"
Tim Focken during training.
© Deutsche Welle
A soldier in the German army, Tim Focken almost lost his life in Afghanistan. In 2010, during a mission, the Taliban surrounded his squad. He is hit by a sniper in the left arm. He managed to board the rescue helicopter before being operated on for 17 hours, but his arm was damaged for life. It also retains deep psychological scars. "It passed a few inches from my head. We never forget such events, they always stay there. We can not erase the memory," he explained to the website of the German Paralympic Committee. Since then, he has kept the bullet that hit him: "I always keep it with me, in my left pocket, and obviously it brought me luck." After several years of intensive shooting training,Tim Focken was able to recover from this traumatic experience. He now feels happy to be able to participate in the Tokyo Games. "Others lost their lives. I was lucky to survive. I still have my family. Since I started playing sports, my life has changed and I have job satisfaction again", a- he summed up with the Xinhua agency.
Rémy Boullé (France): "Sport makes you happy"
French Rémy Boullé during the Invictus Games, September 27, 2017 in Toronto.
Getty Images via AFP - GREGORY SHAMUS
The French Rémy Boullé was not injured in operation, but this former parachute commando in the special forces defended the interests of France in Afghanistan, Mali, Niger or even in Chad. In 2014, the life of this soldier took a dramatic turn during operational training. His parachute does not open and the rescue procedure does not go as planned. He became paraplegic at the age of 26. For a year, he was in remission and rehabilitation at the military hospital in Paris. In the weight room, he stumbles upon a magazine. "I learned while leafing through a leaflet that kayaking was making its entry into the Paralympic Games a year later. As I had practiced the sport as a child,I saw that as a sign and I launched into para canoeing with the goal of the Rio Games, 15 months later ", he described on the Handirect site. The former soldier succeeds his bet and finished 5th in Rio. Five years later, he is now aiming for gold in Tokyo. Despite his handicap, he also aims to resume parachuting. Jumping independently is his next challenge: "Sport, for the disabled as well as for the able-bodied, allows us to feel good in our body. We exert ourselves, we secrete endorphins and dopamine, we forge a social bond, we take care of ourselves. Sport, his sport, when we have found the one that suits us, makes you happy. "he is now aiming for gold in Tokyo. Despite his handicap, he also aims to resume parachuting. Jumping back into autonomy is his next challenge: "Sport, for the disabled as well as for the able-bodied, allows us to feel good in our body. We exert ourselves, we secrete endorphins and dopamine, we forge a social bond, we takes care of yourself. Sport, its sport, when you have found the one that suits you, makes you happy. "he is now aiming for gold in Tokyo. Despite his handicap, he also aims to resume parachuting. Jumping back into autonomy is his next challenge: "Sport, for the disabled as well as for the able-bodied, allows us to feel good in our body. We exert ourselves, we secrete endorphins and dopamine, we forge a social bond, we takes care of yourself. Sport, its sport, when you have found the one that suits you, makes you happy. "when we have found the one that suits us, makes us happy. "when we have found the one that suits us, makes us happy. "
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