The 2020 Paralympics

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Emporess Whitfield

The sitting volleyball event in the Paralympics is displayed on a TV.

The Paralympics is an international sports competition for athletes with disabilities that takes place every two years. The event consists of both summer and winter games and is consistently held in the same city as the Olympics.

This year’s Paralympic Games took place in Tokyo, Japan. They began on August 24th and continued until September 5, and were aired for the first time on prime television for viewers to watch.

“This is my first year to watch it on TV, I’ve always seen clips of it but they’ve never broadcasted it on primetime TV before so this is the first time for most of the world to see it.“ teacher Jimmy Rider said.

The Paralympic events are similar to the Olympics, with them both showcasing sports such as volleyball, swimming, basketball, etc. The difference with the Paralympic games is that each category is specifically catered around the athlete’s disabilities, making it to where they can perform at the best of their ability.

“As far as the events themselves there are only 27 or 29 events in the Paralympics, which is less than the able-bodied Olympics.” Rider said.

One of the Paralympic events that are a must-watch is wheelchair rugby. This sport requires that all participants need to have disabilities with complete or partial loss of function in at least three limbs. It also incorporates elements of rugby, hockey, volleyball, and basketball.

“Wheelchair rugby is my favorite event, and the captain, Joe Delagrave, is a phenomenal player who’s been playing for a long time and he just recently came back from an injury.” Rider said.

Many new world records have been set in almost every single Paralympic event this year, and due to the games being shown on TV, athletes have been given a lot of opportunities to get recognized and receive sponsorships.

“I think this year since they’re in the spotlight they’re receiving the same sponsorships as Olympic athletes.” Rider said.

The Paralympic Games are a competition that is both exhilarating and heartening to witness and should be watched by everyone, especially sports fans. They also give able-bodied individuals a new perspective into what those with disabilities are truly capable of, as they have been doubted by society time and time again.

“I think it’s really inspirational, we see what happens during the able-bodied Olympics and how well they do, but you would expect able-bodied people to do exceptional things because they can,” said Rider. “The society that we live in does not expect disabled people to do phenomenal things, but they still have their disabilities and they still do tremendous things with it and I think that’s amazing.”