#2018 Paralympics

[captainfreelance1]

My Attempt rotoscoping I call Amymation and the inspiration for it Paralympic Snowboader Amy Purdy.

[daikenkki]

Soohorang and Bandabi by MyDiamondsSU

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Walking Around Kensington Garden and Hyde Park

(I went hogwild with photos on the State Apartments tour of Kensington Palace so the KP photos are getting broken up into different posts.)

Approaching Kensington Palace from the Boardwalk in Kensington Garden. This is a resident's only gate (the visitor entrance is to the side) and a popular place for DIana's fans to leave flowers on the anniversary of her death.

Entering the visitor's gate.

Yep, that's 1A on the left. And yep, those windows in the state apartments (the building on the right) overlook their walled garden. But you can't actually see anything - all of the windows with a viewpoint of the 1A garden has privacy film on it that blurs the view. It's very good privacy film. Believe me, I tried.

A head-on view of the KP 1A garden.

KP with the Queen Victoria statue. It was designed by one of her daughters.

The visitor's entrance to the State Apartments. The pergola was installed as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

A close-up of the pergola.

Part of the Memorial Gates, at the corner of Hyde Park. It's also called the Commonwealth Memorial Gates, celebrating armed forces from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Africa, and the Caribbean who served for Britain in the world wars.

The collection of wreaths and flowers there on the left are the tributes from the previous year's Remembrance Day at the Cenotaph.

Close-up of the tributes

About the Memorial Gates.

The Royal Artillery Memorial, a WW1 memorial.

Another view

It was startling to see people climbing on the memorial for photos or to take a closer look, like in this photo and the one above. At most of the DC memorials, visitors don't get this close unless the memorial is designed to be interactive, like the Vietnam War Memorial.

Side view

A closeup of the inscription

The Australian War Memorial

A closeup

Another view

The Wellington Arch

A close-up of the gates at Buckingham Palace

Peeking through the gates at the iconic balcony

The Diana Memorial Walk covers seven miles and takes you around to places associated with Diana during her life.

The Jubilee Greenway is a walking and biking route through central London celebrating The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the 2012 Olympics, and the 2012 Paralympics.

I did the Buckingham Palace Summer Opening. No photos allowed inside, but we could take all the photos we wanted once in the gardens.

While I was on the tour, there were dozens of people taking covert photos (and video) of BP. I am too Type A to even think about trying, but I did get the souvenir book and I was happy with that!

The theme for the 2018 Summer Opening was about Charles, celebrating his 70th birthday and the upcoming 50th anniversary of his Prince of Wales investiture. I remember one of the rooms was filled with gifts he had received throughout his life. I don't remember much specifics, but they were all really beautiful. Some of the tapestries that Charles had received were absolutely stunning.

Another view of the back of Buckingham Palace.

Under those tents on the patio was a small cafe and a children's activity area. There was also a gift shop but it was separate from the palace, set up in trailers next to very fancy portapotties.

Speaking of gift shops, Paul (the tour guide) is very upset with Banksy because the title of Paul's tour guide memoirs was going to be "Exit Through the Gift Shop" - because nearly every tourist destination, museum, and cultural attraction ends with a gift shop. Unfortuanately for Paul, "Exit Through the Gift Shop" is the name of Banksy's excellent documentary.

Some of the gardens at Buckingham Palace.

To exit the Summer Opening tour, you leave through one of the garden paths. It's a great way to see some of the foliage and a lot of the plants, and very serene.

Another view of the gardens, with Buckingham Palace peeking through.

Not pictured is the ice cream pavilion tucked away in the woods. It was a wonderful sweet treat! (You bet I got some Buckingham Palace ice cream.)

Leaving London, en route to Heathrow. When the driver learned that I'd come to celebrate my birthday in England and that I loved the royal family, he took a special detour to take me down The Mall so I could see the view of Buckingham Palace on approach. It was splendid.

Still to come - the KP State Apartments Tour, the Victoria exhibit, the tiaras, the Diana exhibit, The Crown's costume exhibit, and a whole bunch of Harry Potter.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Ernie Gawilan is a fighter.

The 30-year-old champion swimmer made a name for himself after competing in the 2016 Paralympics and becoming the first Filipino gold medalist at the Asian Para Games in 2018. Now, he’s in Tokyo for the 2021 Paralympics, where he will compete and carry his country’s flag in the closing ceremony. But Ernie’s first win came in 1991, when he survived an attempted abortion that left him with no legs and an underdeveloped left arm....

[lesbiansloveseokjin]

day 337/548 of namjoon's military service

these selcas were posted on 171225 with the caption:

Koya.. Ban-ah.. Sorry.. #PyeongChang2018 #Soohorang

(T/N: Soohorang, the white tiger and Bandabi, the Asiatic black bear seen in Suga’s tweet, are the mascots of Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games - trans cr: Denise @ bts-trans)

[yourdailyqueer]

Karolina Hamer

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Bisexual

DOB: 12 February 1981

Ethnicity: White - Polish

Occupation: Paralympic swimmer, disability rights activist

Note 1: In 2018 she publicly came out as bisexual becoming the first active Polish sportswoman to do so.

Note 2: Has Paraparesis

[not-online-until-december-20th0]

Do you know about the Gaza Sunbirds?

They are a paracycling team from Gaza. During the manifestations held between 2018 and 2019 at the border between Israel and Palestine, Alaa al-Dali, a professional cyclist, was shot by israeli snipers and lost a leg. 214 other palestinians were killed and more than 36 thousands were wounded. Many of them ended up losing limbs.

Alaa al-Dali knew these people were at risk of becoming outcasts, so he decided to found a paracycling team with them. The team was getting ready for the 2024 Paralympics, but because of the genocide they won't be able to take part in the games. The Gaza Sunbirds have now decided to put their skill at the service of the palestinian people, and bring humanitarian aid even to the most remote places of Palestine.

There are cities which are organizing rides to raise funds for the Gaza Sunbirds (you could ask to organize one in your city!), but you could also simply donate through their website:

[regina-pats]

"Hockey is For Everyone" night

This past weekend, the Regina Pats held their HIFE game in an 8-0 win against the Seattle Thunderbirds. This felt meaningful as Luke Prokop was a part of this team for the 2022-2023 season, helping the team to the Memorial Cup. As of right now, Prokop is the only out player under an active NHL contract.

With a ceremonial puck drop from Jacob Wassermann, victim in the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash and paralympian (9th in the PR1 single skulls in the 2024 Paris Paralympic). Not a dry eye in the Brandt Centre that night, a truly beautiful moment.

According to Tourism Regina (not to ignore some of their recent PR stunts), this game is "all about celebrating inclusion and making sure everyone feels welcome in our hockey community." Apart from Wassermann's puck drop, I saw nothing, especially compared to last season's "Hockey is For Everyone" game.

No use of pride tape in warm up, no mention of any para or blind hockey associations, etc...

If the Pats really wanted to show their support, they could have done it during their "big Bedard year." Having the next big kid in hockey saying "regardless of your race, gender, sexuality, etc..., there's always room in the locker room for you." would have done wonders. Due to the nature of the second half of the 2022-2023 season, that did not happen.

Last year, there was the use of pride tape, involvement of local pride groups (Queen City Pride), and promo videos from what I can remember.

I do understand that the political climate of Saskatchewan is not particularly friendly towards queer people at the moment, and hopefully there will be a change after the upcoming election. There may be players from either team from countries that are hostile towards queer people and could be putting themselves or their families at risk by showing support.

There are indigenous players on the team, there's POC and queer people involved in off ice roles. People who have been traditionally excluded from the sport are existing and thriving. I hope that I continue to see that in the upcoming seasons.

I question I ask myself every year, is hockey really for everyone?

[mathsandwhiteroses]

Royal Summer Challenge 2024: Day 19

Favourite photos of royals at the Paralympics

Unfortunately, I could only find photos of the Brits at the summer Paralympic Games so fingers crossed we will have more Royals attend the Paralympics in Paris this year.

The photo of Catherine and Louise was taken during the London 2012 games, the photos of Sonja were taken during the Lillehammer 1994 games, and the photo of Victoria was taken during the Pyeongchang 2018 games.

[un-pearable]

Preface: i am a big fan of olympic drama specifically. and i rewatched one of my favorite videos on the topic about olympic/paralympic mascots over the years. this question has been on my mind since LA started construction for 2028 back in 2018 and i am a massive nerd who likes making dumb polls. :D

LA2028 was lobbied for incredibly strongly with a LOT of money poured into feasibility and marketing. look at their seven million logos and desperation to show the variety of cultures in LA and the USA.

skateboard to make the picture smaller. there is no way this event goes off without rampant discourse and probably a few outright protests. anyway. given how much money and time they’ve committed already and how big of a deal they want this to be, i am DESPERATE to see how they approach the mascot. this is going to be so much fun

Point A: LA’s mascot for the 1984 was Sam the Olympic Eagle, designed by former Disney employee Bob Moore. perfectly pleasant little guy who is still bland as hell. literally no one knows who he is bc you don’t need to. significance: bald eagle

Point B: Rio2016 permanently raised the bar with their iconic homages to local flora and fauna named after iconic local musicians. they were thrown into the ring to signify a call in the olympic wresting matches! tom’s hair changed colors based on the medal each paralympic athlete won!!! i would kill for them

Point C: Paris2020 are. well

well meaning and fine and aggressively advertised for the last four years. they announced these guys early and they have been everywhere

Point D:

the very first unofficial olympic mascot was found at the first LA games in 1932. say hi to smokey :)

[captainfreelance1]

Amy Purdy in snowboard cross, during 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea .

[daikenkki]

Soohorang and Bandabi by Tokusan23

[rating-bears]

Bandabi the winter 2018 paralympic mascot!!!!!

(i did two images cuz the toy is so cute!!!)

I didn't know about him before this!!!! so I did some reading on his Wikipedia page (Wikipedia my BELOVED) and he's such a cool guy!!

hes based on the Asiatic black bear, better known as the moon bear (my second favorite bear!) and he definitely looks like it! the moon marking is a dead giveaway!! I will say that the rest of his design doesn't scream moon bear to me, mostly because they are usually VERY puffy and fluffy looking, especially around the face/head/neck area, and on his design you can see a clear separation between his body and neck but that's just me nitpicking because i am Not normal about bears!

He also "has strong will and courage, is at the forefront of equality and harmony" (<-quote), so he's just a great guy in general!!!! i love him!!!!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5!!! His hat is so cute!!

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Japan’s wheelchair rugby team gets fairytale ending in Paris 🇫🇷

The new wheelchair rugby Paralympic champions, Japan!🇯🇵 First gold medal for them after two bronze medals in a row, what a journey!

——

Le nouveau champion Paralympique de rugby fauteuil, le Japon !🇯🇵 Première médaille d'or pour eux après deux médailles de bronze d'affilée, quel parcours!

From persistence to perfection: Team Japan claims gold 🥇 in wheelchair rugby at the Paris tournament after beating the USA 48-41 at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in the final at the Champ-de-Mars Arena.

Japan won bronze at Rio 2016, winning their first Paralympic medal in the sport. But three years ago, Japan went into the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic tournament as one of the gold medal favourites, having won the World Championships in 2018, they were knocked out in the semifinals and finished with bronze in Tokyo.

Japan's Daisuke Ikezaki keeps the ball away from the United States in the gold medal match © Alex Davidson/Getty Images

They made wheelchair rugby history in Rio by winning their first Paralympic medal. From there, they tried to grow the popularity of the sport while preparing for their home Games. They wanted to achieve the best results, especially for people struggling at that moment with the COVID-19 pandemic. They weren’t able to do that in the end and felt disappointed.

Japan celebrates their monumental wheelchair rugby gold medal © Alex Davidson/Getty Images

From there, they were able to turn another page in wheelchair rugby history. This is the best result. They proved that everything they had done was correct and didn’t make mistakes. They led to great results earning the Gold medal. 🥇

With viewers turning up to watch the wheelchair rugby competitions at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024, the players are thoroughly with family, friends and fans enjoying the wonderful atmosphere created at the Champ-de-Mars Arena.

Congratulations Team Japan! 🇯🇵🎉

After years of determination and progress, Team Japan has triumphed at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, winning the gold in wheelchair rugby by defeating Team USA in a thrilling final! From 4th place in London 2012 to 3rd in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, they now stand proudly at the top.

Well done, champions! 🥇

🎥 Asian Paralympic Committee

#Paris2024 #wheelchairrugby #asianparalympic #Champions #Paralympics #Alex Davidson/#GettyImages #Japan #GoldMedal

Posted 3rd September 2024

[ratsoh-writes]

Okay okay. Delaray Lliana Woods Mewther, native to the former Ebbot from underlust. She lived with her dad, sisterand sibling.

Dela was born with extreme light sensitivity, so she always used special glasses to block out the sun, and also development a linking to gymnastics. She even went to the Paralympics two three times, and won silver, gold and 5th place in women's gymnastics.

Dela, her dad and sister were all goblin mages. Their mom had long since passed away, and the dad took the loss very harsh.

After the crash, they [spoilers] so they had to live in the refugees camps for a while, but the dad decided to grow a spine and in 2018 he [spoilers] to the government, resulting in their house to [spoilers].

Oooooooooo

[qnewsau]

Valentina Petrillo set to become first transgender athlete at Paralympics

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/valentina-petrillo-first-trans-athlete-at-paralympics/

Valentina Petrillo set to become first transgender athlete at Paralympics

Visually impaired sprinter Valentina Petrillo is set to become the first openly transgender athlete in the Paralympic Games.

“I still find it hard to believe it and I’m keeping my feet on the ground.”Petrillo said in a statement.

“My chance to participate in Tokyo was missed by a whisker, I will only start thinking about the Paris Games once I arrive in France.”

50-year-old Petrillo was selected to represent Italy in the women’s 200m and 400m in the Paris Paralympics.

Diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition stargardt disease at the age of 14, she has won 11 national titles in the male T12 category for athletes with visual impairment between 2015 and 2018.

Petrillo has said she knew she was a woman from as young as nine years old and with her wife’s support, she started living as a woman in 2018, and hormone therapy in 2019.

Transition change for the better

“I’m not the same as before,” she said post-transition in an interview with the BBC in 2021, “my metabolism has changed.”

“In the first months of transition, I put on 10kg, became anaemic, my haemoglobin is low, I don’t have the same physical strength, my sleep isn’t what it was, I have mood swings.”

“I’m not the same as before…better to be a slow happy woman than a fast unhappy man.”

Instagram

“As a sportsperson, to accept that you won’t go as fast as before is difficult. I had to accept this compromise because it is a compromise, for my happiness.”

When asked about her reaction to being selected for the Paralympics, she told BBC Sport she had been “waiting for this day for three years and done everything possible to earn it.”

“I deserve this selection and I want to thank the Italian Paralympic Federation and the Italian Paralympic Committee for having always believed in me, above all as a person as well as an athlete.

“The historic value of being the first transgender woman to compete at the Paralympics is an important symbol of inclusion.”

‘This is Who I Am’

“This is not a lifestyle choice for me, this is who I am.” Petrillo said when asked what she would say to those who feel her presence in Paris is unfair.

“The way I am, like all transgender people who do not feel they belong to their biological gender, should not be discriminated against in the same way that race, religion or political ideology should not be discriminated against.”

“And sport that imposes rules based on a binary way of thinking does not factor this in.”

“It is sport that has to find a solution and excluding transgender athletes is clearly not that solution.”

Last year, Petrillo won two bronze medals at the World Para Athletics Championships.

The Paralympic Games run from 28th August to 8th September.

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