elisi: 2012 <3 (Olympics)
elisi ([personal profile] elisi) wrote2012-09-09 12:18 pm
Entry tags:

\o/

Went to the Paralympics yesterday.

Had a fabulous time.

More later.

(Haven't seen DW yet.)

ETA: Just watched David Weir win the Marathon (and his fourth gold medal) with cheering crowds all the way down The Mall. What the TV presenter said really struck me:

"If you're watching this, and you've just started Secondary school and you're in a wheelchair - get down to your nearest athletics centre. They will find you a chair, and maybe one day this could be you."

It is just... astonishing the way these games have changed attitudes and perceptions. The Paralympians are sporting heroes, plain and simple.

(I bought a small commemorative athletics figurine of a wheelchair racer yesterday - they had 30 different ones, both Olympic and Paralympic - but this one was the obvious choice. We saw 2 of the heats for the relay (4x400) and they're just damn impressive!)

[identity profile] the-royal-anna.livejournal.com 2012-09-20 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
I am very envious - I could never get tickets for actual events, try as I might, although I did make it to the park which was wonderful. You must have had a fantastic day! I was glued to the TV coverage and am still missing it like - I was going to say a lost limb, but somehow, it doesn't seem like a good example of a thing you'd miss anymore.

We have just ordered a football with a bell in so we can play blindfolded football at youth club, which pre-Paralympics might have seemed tasteless. Now, it's simply a response to seeing a sport that looks challenging and fun, and aspiring to an example set by sportspeople showcasing the best of themselves.