Canada brought 68 medals back from Beijing this summer, but most Canadians don’t know where 50 of them came from.
The able-bodied athletes won 18 medals in the Olympic Games this summer but another group of stars, athletes competing in the Paralympic Games, contributed 50 medals to Canada’s medal count.
Though Canadian Paralympians set world records and won 19 gold medals, there was little coverage of the 11-day competition by the country’s major media outlets.
It’s disappointing the Paralympics were given so little coverage, especially because during Canada’s winless first week in the main Olympics, media coverage of each disappointing final was practically non-stop.
The Paralympics were introduced in 1960 to give athletes with physical and sensorial disabilities, as defined by the International Paralympic Committee, an opportunity to compete in an international sports competition.
The games should also serve as a reminder of these athletes’ courage and perseverance, not to mention a celebration of their athleticism.
Though the division of able-bodied and disabled athletes in competition is necessary, making a distinction between the strength and dedication of these athletes is unfounded and unfair. In reality, both spend comparable amounts of time and effort to train their bodies.
Montreal racer Chantal Petitclerc, who retires this year after her fifth Paralympics appearance, won 21 career medals, including five gold medals in Beijing. It would hardly be a stretch to suggest Petitclerc’s training regime is as demanding as sprinter Usain Bolt’s.
There has historically been a stigma attached to those with disabilities and the Games are a way to defeat the negative stereotype that these athletes are somehow inferior to their able-bodied counterparts.
It’s insulting that, in a country that touts itself as progressive and liberal, Paralympians would be relegated to late-night sports reels and the odd article in a newspaper’s sports section.
It’s possible that holding the competition right after the main Olympics led to less interest from viewers who were tired of too much Olympic coverage, but equally likely there just wasn’t enough interest to justify proper Paralympics coverage.
But if both competitions are held at the same time, it’s likely the Olympics would overshadow the Paralympics.
People can only go so far to blame the media for lack of coverage before having to ask themselves whether they were open to watching extensive Paralympics coverage.
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