In the 1996Atlanta games athletes with intellectual disabilities were allowed to participate for the first time. However following cheating by the International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID) in the 2000Sydney games, in which non-disabled athletes were entered in the Spanishbasketball team, such athletes have been banned by the IPC. Following an anti-corruption drive the INAS-FID is currently lobbying to have such athletes reinstated.
The IPC logo consisted on three Agitos. The new Paralympic logo consists of three elements in red, blue and green—the three colours that are most widely represented in national flags around the world. The IPC motto is the ´´Spirit in Motion´´.
The name derives from the Greek "para" ("beside" or "alongside"), and has nothing do do with paralysis or paraplegia.
Britain came second only in the medal table to China (and think about what that means in terms of comparing their population to ours!), while Greece moved a little closer to Europe in addressing the issues of its disabled citizens.
There's a bit of a sad irony here in that Greece's Paralympic athletes, who brought home medal glory and who enticed the spectators to come watch the Games, are overwhelmingly disabled as the result of traffic accidents.
Yet, these athletes who understand and personify the fact that life goes on despite tragedy, and often in the face of adversity, are the people who are now having to shelve their celebrations of life with disability as a result of this horrible tragedy.
ParalympicsOntario is pleased to announce that the 2007 Ontario ParaSport Awards will take place Saturday, November 17 at the DoubleTree International Plaza Hotel in Toronto.
ParalympicsOntario (PO) has played an integral role in the development of Paralympians for the past two decades through an established multi-sport games program, which features Ontario ParaSport Summer Championship and Winter Games, along with Regional Games.
ParalympicsOntario brings a number of experienced Athlete Ambassadors into each community to share their story and demonstrate sport.
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