#Paralympic 2021

[yusukeide]

東京2020パラリンピック開会式/閉会式

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Opening Ceremony Behind the Scenes　東京2020パラリンピック開会式ができるまで Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Closing Ceremony Behind the Scenes 東京2020パラリンピック閉会式ができるまで

アクセスコーディネーターとして、障がいのある出演者を中心としたサポートや舞台進行等に従事

[itgetsbetterproject]

Reminder that there are some badass queer athletes at the Paralympics in Paris this year!

"It's really frustrating that I have such a strong relationship with being a lesbian and being proud, but it's so hard when everybody just sees the chair."

Courtney Ryan is competing for Team USA in wheelchair basketball annnd it's not her first rodeo - we got to have her tell her story on her way to the Tokyo Paralympics back in 2021, too:

[daily-pink-character]

Pink character of the⁽ᵖᵃˢᵗ ²⁾day- ★

ᵈᵃʸ ³⁶⁴

Someity

from: the 2021 Tokyo Olympic and PARALYMPIC games

[stevebattle]

Miraitowa and Someity Tokyo 2020 Olympics mascot robots, (2019), Toyota, Japan. Miraitowa (ミライトワ) (above left) is the official mascot of the 2020 Summer Olympics, and Someity (ソメイティ) (above right) is the official mascot of the 2020 Summer Paralympics, held in Tokyo and postponed to 2021. "To make this the most innovative and technologically advanced Games in history, Tokyo 2020 and Toyota are working to develop a 'mascot robot'. In addition to welcoming athletes and guests to official venues, Toyota is currently considering plans for a new way for the Games to be enjoyed by children in Japan, via the mascot robot. The mascot robot will both allow expressions of arm movements via a remote-location robot, and share force-feedback from interactions. Via a camera mounted on the robot’s head, it can recognize people nearby, and once recognized, use its eyes to respond with/show a variety of expressions. By equipping the robot with miniature joint units across its entire body, the robot offers flexibility when being controlled, and the users can operate the robot safely and with high operational functionality."

"The Miraitowa and Someity character designs were a vast departure from the forms of standard bipedal robot theories. Compared to humanoid robots based on human proportions, such as the T-HR3 already in development by Toyota, they had extremely large heads and short limbs. While such stocky body shapes may add to the characters’ charm, a head heavy in relation to the body would sway with every motion and make the robot’s movements unstable. Some experts in the field of robotics went so far as to say that a bipedal robot could not be built with this body shape." – "Children's Dreams" a Driving Force behind Robot Mascot Development

[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....

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

'Media in Brazil have yet to understand the power of the Paralympics,' says Brazilian authority

The department is part of the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship and supports the Ministry of Sports

On the eve of the Paralympic Games in Paris, one expectation is whether Brazil will follow, cheer, and be moved by the athletes' participation, just as it was less than a month ago when the country took part in the Olympics.

At the last Paralympics in Japan, in 2021, Brazilian parathletes stood on the podium 72 times and won 22 gold medals. This number exceeds the total of medals the country won at the Olympic Games in the same edition and in Paris. 

However, for the National Department for the Rights of People with Disabilities, Ana Paula Feminella, the population's involvement is different. She attributes this imbalance to the Brazilian media, which “have yet to understand the power of the Paralympics," she said in an interview with the Bem Viver TV show on Tuesday (27).

The department is part of the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship and supports the Sports Ministry in developing paralympic athletes through the Living Without Limits program (Programa Viver Sem Limites, in Portuguese).

“I think there is still a very limited understanding, which is due to the ableism we live in, a culture that doesn't recognize people with disabilities as subjects of rights, as people who are also capable of doing great things,” says Feminella.

“We need the media to value [the Paralympics] even more, give more visibility to it,” said the secretary. 

Continue reading.

[barbielore]

Barbie has had tie-ins for the Olympic Games before, including both the Summer and Winter games as well as the Paralympics.

(Finding that post to link back to made me realise that I said I was going to do a post about past Winter games dolls, but I haven't done so.)

As of time of writing this post, there have not been any announced tie-in dolls for the 2024 Paris games, but I think it's highly likely that there will be.

I have recently discovered that there was a bit of controversy over the dolls for the Tokyo games in 2020/2021, and I feel it appropriate to draw attention to it.

This was during a time when Mattel were really pushing diverse line-ups in the Barbie brand. In fact, there was a press release (links to it now dead but it was quoted in some other articles) in which they discussed that the collection was designed to “highlight inclusivity and innovation”.

However, some people subsequently questioned this, as the line does not contain any Barbies of Asian appearance - despite the Games being held in Japan!

Mattel's official statement was that the Skateboarder Barbie was intended to be read as an Asian athlete however that they "fell short".

I am not going to question whether this doll is or is not intended to depict an Asian athlete - however this was a disappointing effort given the promise of inclusivity.

Some Asian athletes have been depicted as Barbies - for example volleyballer Hui Ruoqi has a She-roes depiction.

And snowboarder Chloe Kim has a highly sought after Barbie depiction too.

However going forward Mattel really could do better to ensure that, if they are going to market a brand as being diverse and inclusive, that they actually do follow through on that promise.

[coochiequeens]

Speaking about his personal history with the BBC in June 2021, Petrillo said: “Until four years ago, if you’d talked to Fabrizio (the name Petrillo was given at birth), Fabrizio would have given you the idea he was sexist. He was a tough guy who’d speak dismissively of women and then be a woman in his private space.”

Another misogynist who couldn't succeed against other men.

By Genevieve Gluck August 13, 2024

A 50 year-old trans-identified male from Italy is set to become the first man to compete in a women’s category at the Paris Paralympics. Valentina Petrillo, whose birth name is Fabrizio, who competes in the women’s T12 classification, for athletes with visual impairments, and currently holds 8 women’s running championship titles, despite failing to earn even one while competing as a male.

Petrillo has been diagnosed with Stargardt disease, a disorder of the eye that causes retinal degeneration over time. Due to this visual impairment, he has been permitted to compete in both matches designated for women with disabilities, as well as those which are not.

At the Paralympic Games, which are scheduled to run from August 28 to September 8, Petrillo will run in the women’s T12 200m and 400m. He was cleared to compete against female athletes, despite being a man, by International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons. The IPC works closely with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the two have self-described as “strategic partners.”

Speaking to BBC Sport, Parsons revealed that the IPC does not enforce an official position for or against allowing men to self-identify into women’s sport, but rather “[allow] individual sports to make their rules in terms of transgender,” which results in rules that are “different from sport to sport.”

“Some are coming with different positions on transgender, or with the criteria to allow them or not to allow them, so I’m not surprised by the repercussions of it,” Parsons said. He added that he hoped the sporting community would “unite” on policies dealing with gender identity.

According to the World Para Athletics Championships guidance on participation, “an athlete shall be eligible to compete in women’s competition if she is recognized as female by law.” But their policy book goes on to note that it will “deal with any cases involving transgender athletes in accordance with the IOC’s transgender guidelines.”

Petrillo first changed his name to Valentina and began taking estrogen in 2019. The following year, he began competing against female athletes and has since broken multiple Italian women’s running records.

Speaking about his personal history with the BBC in June 2021, Petrillo said: “Until four years ago, if you’d talked to Fabrizio (the name Petrillo was given at birth), Fabrizio would have given you the idea he was sexist. He was a tough guy who’d speak dismissively of women and then be a woman in his private space.”

Mariuccia Quilleri, an athlete and lawyer who has represented several female athletes who oppose Petrillo’s participation in women’s races, told the BBC that inclusion had been chosen over fairness and “there is not much more we can do.”

See rest of article

[rihanziad]

'Spectacular' Paris Paralympics to open on Wednesday

Elizabeth Hudson, Emma Smith and Alan Jewell

Paris has promised a Games to remember as it gets ready to host the 2024 Paralympics.

After the delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 had to be held without fans because of the Covid pandemic, and Rio 2016 was dogged by financial issues, the pressure is on Paris to deliver an event to rival  or even better the London 2012 Games.

Wednesday's opening ceremony at 19:00 BST will be focused on the Place de la Concorde, with the first of the 549 gold medals to be awarded the following day.

Read More Read More

[importantwomensbirthdays]

Anastasia Pagonis

Anastasia Pagonis was born in 2004 in Long Island, New York. Pagonis began losing her vision at the age of 11, and it was around this time that she took up swimming. By age 14, she had lost all usable vision. At the US Paralympic Trials in 2021, Pagonis broke the world record in the S11 400m freestyle. At the Tokyo Paralympics later that year, she broke her own world record and claimed the gold medal in that event. She also won the bronze medal in the individual 200m medley. In addition to her success at the Paralympics, Pagonis is also a three-time world champion.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

@davellisgb and his guide @lukepollard91 won the Olympic gold 🥇🇬🇧 in the PTVI3 class finishing 750m swim, 20k bike and the 5k run in 58 minutes. Could you do this? 🏊🚴🏃

Cheesin' all the way to the finish line in Paris 🇫🇷😁

Dave Ellis banished the ghosts of Tokyo 2021 with a brilliant performance to claim Paralympics PTVI para-triathlon gold at Paris 2024

Dave Ellis and guide Luke Pollard finished one minute 26 seconds ahead of their competitors

Competing in the PTVI category in paratriathlete competition, partially sighted Dave Ellis is a six-time world and five-time European champion, and now a Paralympic gold medallist. Dave races with a guide due to having less than 10% of his vision.

RAF veteran Luke Pollard (Royal Air Force) and former RAF athlete won a gold medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, was selected to be Dave’s permanent guide in 2019 and since then the pair have become great friends off the course striking up a formidable partnership on it.

At the Tokyo Games in 2021, Pollard and Ellis saw their medal chase stopped in their tracks due to a broken bike chain.

Paratriathlon is a sport where athletes sequentially compete in three disciplines swim bike and run the type and level of disability are classified into three classes.

Congratulations to BOTH!! 🥇🥇

The 37-year-old, from Heanor, Derbyshire, also has a message for other people with disabilities who may doubt whether they can break down the barriers or overcome the obstacles that stand between them and the world of sport.

Barriers are there to be broken down. Obstacles to be overcome. And no-one knows this better than visually impaired para triathlete Dave Ellis. At the age of 16, sports-mad Dave was told he was going blind.

Nothing but love and respect for the Paralympic athletes! ❤️

🎥 @Paralympics

#Paris2024 @davellisgb @lukepollard91 #guide #triathlete #paratriathlete #paratriathlon #GoldMedal #triathlon #paralympics #respect

Posted 3rd September 2024

[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.

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[beardedmrbean]

The International Olympic Committee awarded the 2034 Winter Olympics to Salt Lake City on Wednesday but warned they could be stripped of the Games if US authorities maintain their feud with the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The success of Salt Lake City's bid was a foregone conclusion given the Utah city, which hosted the Games in 2002, was the only candidate.

But in a dramatic twist shortly before members approved the bid by 83 votes to six, Olympic chiefs said  the Games could be revoked if US lawmakers and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) were not brought into line, especially over the case of 23 Chinese swimmers.

Outspoken USADA chief Travis Tygart accused the IOC of "stooping to threats".

John Coates, chairman of the IOC's legal commission, said the host city contract confirming Salt Lake's right to stage the Games had been altered to allow the IOC to take them away if US authorities did not respect the "supreme authority" of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Speaking in Paris ahead of the opening of the Games on Friday, Coates said it was "a must, and I stress the word must" for the US authorities to respect WADA.

"The IOC has reinforced the current language of the Olympic host contract in order to protect the integrity of the international anti-doping system and to allow the IOC to terminate -- to terminate -- the Olympic host contract in cases where the supreme authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency.... is not fully respected or if the application of the World Anti-Doping code is hindered or undermined," Coates said.

The warning stunned seasoned observers of the IOC and sports politics.

USADA has been a vocal critic of WADA for much of the past decade.

Those tensions spiked this year after reports in April revealed that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for a banned substance ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, but were subsequently cleared to compete at the Games.

Tygart has consistently accused WADA of covering up the cases, which China blamed on unintentional food contamination.

Eleven of the 23 Chinese swimmers are in Paris.

WADA has angrily rejected the criticism from USADA, threatening legal action against the body.

- 'Sport lapdog' -

Coates said both the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and the state of Utah had agreed to the reworded host city contract.

"We are committed to fostering WADA's authority as (it) is crucial for the opportunity to provide clean sport for athletes and give them confidence that they can be protected," USOPC chairman Gene Sykes said.

"Our view is that this is of paramount importance and we take their concerns very seriously."

Sarah Hirshland, chief executive of the USOPC, called the Games an "opportunity to bring organisations together to improve the entire anti-doping eco system in collaboration and unity with one another".

She said they had "happily and readily signed" the contract.

But in an angry statement, Tygart again condemned WADA's handling of the case of the Chinese swimmers and lashed out at the conditions of the agreement for Salt Lake to host in 2034.

"It is shocking to see the IOC itself stooping to threats in an apparent effort to silence those seeking answers to what are now known as facts," he said.

"It seems more apparent than ever that WADA violated the rules (over the Chinese swimmers) and needs accountability and reform to truly be the global watchdog that clean athletes need.

"Today's demonstration further showed that as it stands today, WADA is just a sport lapdog, and clean athletes have little chance."

[partybarty]

Diede de Groot wins record-extending sixth wheelchair title

It is her 23rd singles grand slam title and 15th in a row.

The 27-year-old remains on course for a fourth-straight calendar grand slam and second consecutive golden slam, with the Paralympics set to take place in Paris later in the year.

De Groot has won the Australia, French, US and Wimbledon titles every year since 2021.

She also has nine grand slam doubles titles.

[atotaltaitaitale]

.

The end… for the second time in a month.

We needed those two weeks in between so we could miss you, Olympics, but after the Closing Ceremony on August 11, we knew deep down that we would get to experience all that joy again for the Paralympics. This time it’s really the end. We need to go back to our lives and you have timed it perfectly with La Rentrée.

While the Olympic Game and the Paralympic Game are 2 different entities and managed by 2 different committees, Paris2024 wanted the Paralympics to be a true extension of the Olympics. For the first time the emblem (a golden circle with a white flame inside, a stylized rendition of Marianne) and the motto (Games Wide Open/Ouvrons Grand les Jeux) were shared by both events, and even the Olympic and Paralympic mascots were the same: the famous (infamous?) Phryge, albeit an able-bodied Phryge for the Olympics and a prosthetic Phryge for the Paralympics.

While Paris was hosting the Olympics for the third time, it was actually the first time the city had hosted the Paralympics (France has hosted one Winter Paralympics in 1992 in Albertville, while the next one will be in 2030). In fact, the Paralympics began in 1948 with a small gathering of British veterans of the Second World War at Stoke Madeville Hospital (hence why the Paralympics flame is lit there) on the opening day of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. But the first official Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960, and since then they have been held in the same year as the Olympic Games, but in a different city or even country. Since 1988 in Seoul, the Paralympics have been held immediately after the Olympics in the same city and using most of the same venues. Bidding to host the Olympic Games means bidding to host the Paralympic Games as well.

The Paralympic Games have a tremendous track record of transforming host cities and countries, improving the lives of people with disabilities and all those with accessibility needs and acting as a catalyst to improve accessibility. In France, since 2008, able-bodied and Paralympic medalists have received the same amount of money depending on the medal won [NB: since 2021 for the USA paralympiques!]. Since the London 2012 Olympics, guides (para-athletics, para-triathlon, para-cycling and para-triathlon) who accompany visually impaired or blind athletes have also been rewarded with a medal when the athlete reached the podium. The Paralympics are here to drive change in the world and drive this "inclusion revolution".

To say that Paris2024 was amazing is an understatement. But there is something even more special about the Paralympics. Yes all athletes are super-humans but Paralympians are a cut above and we got to see 4,400 athletes from 168 delegations compete in 549 medal events across 22 sports. I've always admired Paralympians but after attending even more events this time than at the Beijing2008 games, I’m in total awe of their abilities beyond their disabilities. The words I heard the most often at the events: Incredible. Unbelievable. Amazing. Everyone seems to be in admiration of the athletes. You can't help but be in amazed when you are in the stands of Paris La Defense Arena cheering the athletes of the Para swimming events or astonished by the complete silence of 12,000 spectators in the Stade Eiffel Tower for Blind football followed by an eruption of applause when a team scores a goal (any team for that matter… although the cheering might be slightly louder when Team France is on the field), that’s also where I got to experience a silent, slow ola where the public rose to their feet in a gentle, synchronised way to create a perfectly silent Mexican wave. The Grand Palais was as packed as for the Olympics for para taekwondo or wheelchair fencing, both events I attended. I couldn’t not go to the gorgeous Para equestrian venue on the grounds of the Palais de Versailles and got again to do the Silent Applause: a very important part of Para Equestrian that encourages the fans to cheer without distracting the rider and the horse. As I never make it to the French Open, the Men's single medals in wheelchairs tennis were the events that finally took me to the mythic Roland Garros central court. I’m not a huge fan of tennis in general (I know the players, and follow the Grand Slam from afar) but the Gold/Silver match between Japan's Tokito Oda (Gold Medalist) and Britain's Alfie Hewett (Silver Medalist) was a real treat and kept us on the edge of our seat for three sets. I may have to look for wheelchair tennis events to watch in the future. Finally one cannot experience the Games (Olympic and/or Paralympic) without attending at least some of the Athletics events at Stade de France. The atmosphere on the final night of the game was electric.

The Olympics are always very popular and well televised but the Paralympics tend to be a bit less enthusiastic and not as well-followed (often due to the lack of media coverage unfortunately). In Paris, however, there were huge crowds at the venues, and local fans not only supported the French athletes, they cheered on athletes from all over the world and made sure the athletes felt welcome. As IPC President Andrew Parsons mentioned in his closing ceremony: For a country famous for its fashion and food, France is now famous for its fans. With more competing countries, more women and more global coverage than ever before, Paris 2024 has set a benchmark for all future Paralympic Games.

With 10 Paralympic and 4 Olympic events, I've had a busy summer in Paris and I’m so glad we’ve decided to stay in town and experience the Games. And yet, there are so many more sporting events I would have love to have seen, especially for the Paralympics: wheelchair rugby, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, etc, etc. Who knows if I’ll ever live again in a city hosting the Games. Twice was already great.

From Tony Estanguet's closing ceremony speech: This summer, France had a date with history, and the country showed up. France dared to imagine things that had never been done before: the first Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games outside a stadium, the first marathon open to all, the first Games in the heart of the city. France dared to believe in the power of sport.

With the Games, we rediscovered our heritage, our creativity and our capacity to achieve great things. We rediscovered our joie de vivre, our impertinence at times, and above all, all the positive energy that exploded in the stands! These Games will have been an encounter between France and itself. The France that smiles. The France that loves itself. The France that we are proud of. The France that breaks records: Olympic medal records, Paralympic medal records, Spectator records, Audience records, Atmosphere records, “Allez Les Bleus" records.

From Olympic Rings to Paralympic Agitos… Everything must come to an end but memories last forever.

PS: There was no “addressing the elephant in the room” with the Paralympics Opening Ceremony… it was just perfect; although seeing the gorgeous sunset as the Paralympics athletes walked down the Champs Élysées towards the Place de la Concorde was slightly bittersweet as it reminded us of what the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony could have been like (if it hadn't rained that evening).

Edit: Paris2024 sold 12 millions tickets. 9.5 for the Olympics and 2.5 for the Paralympics!!