Photo: Instagram/usparaalpineski
(Podcast length 4:29 mins)
We are in the midst of the always inspiring and motivating Winter Paralympic Games. If you're wondering the story behind the name of the Games, it's derived from the Greek preposition "para" (beside or alongside). The Paralympic Games exist side-by-side with the Olympic Games as the Games take place in the exact location as the Winter Olympics). These athletes have amazing stories to share, so here's a little bit more about what you can expect.
Transcript
1. The Winter Paralympics debuted in 1976 in Sweden, 16 years after the first Summer Paralympic Games. Ten different impairments determine if an athlete is eligible to compete in the Paralympics: impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, muscle tension, uncoordinated movement, involuntary movements, vision impairment and intellectual impairment. RESILIENCE IN MOTION
2. US Paralympic winter sports athletes will receive the same medal bonus as their Olympian counterparts for the first time. Now Paralympians earn $37,500 for a gold medal, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze, increasing their payout by as much as 400 percent. NOW WE'RE TALKING
3. Around 564 athletes from 46 nations are competing across 78 medal events. These Games are smaller than the Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, which boasted 4,400 athletes. You won't see any Russian and Belarusian athletes because the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) banned both countries for their role in the war in Ukraine. But you will see the oldest athlete in Beijing, 66-year-old Pam Wilson, make her Paralympic debut in wheelchair curling. The youngest is 15-year-old vision-impaired alpine skier Elina Stary. BETTER TOGETHER
4. Flying down the slopes are skiers like Danelle Umstead from the US, who is visually impaired and relies on her husband Rob to be her guide. You won't see that the couple uses Bluetooth to communicate on the slopes, where Rob calls out commands and describes the environment so Danelle can anticipate what's coming. SO DETERMINED
5. There are so many athletes to highlight, but one to keep an eye on is Summer and Winter Paralympic star, Oksana Masters. The Ukrainian-born American held 12 Paralympic medals heading into the Games, and she landed the first gold medal for the US in Beijing. There is a host of military athletes competing this year for Team USA, including David Williams (Army/alpine skiing), Jen Lee (Army/sled hockey), Tyler Burdick (Navy/Snowboarding) and Josh Sweeney (Marines/Nordic skiing). THANK YOU
PS: If you want to know more, the Paralympics' official Instagram account has posted some excellent educational posts alongside the coverage of the games. It's a perfect account to follow for all of the action and to learn a little bit along the way.
Sports Curious, presented by Last Night's Game, is here to take the awkward out of the conversation and help you join the sports conversation, even if you don't know the first thing about sports. We break down what's happening in sports in an easy-to-understand, fun way without all of the statistics and jargon, so you never have to exit stage left when the chatter at the office, dinner table or networking event switches to sports.
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