Everyone knows about the Olympic Games. It's one of the most anticipated sporting events around the world. Every two years, we sit down to watch hours upon hours of amazing sports, talented athletes, and the reception of many medals. But most people don't realize that just a few short weeks after the Olympics, the Paralympics took place in Rio. And frankly, I believe that the Paralympics are even better than the Olympics.
The Paralympics is exactly like the Olympics except every single one of the athletes has a disability. Some sports are modified and many are separated by classes. Yet, they are still amazing to watch. These past games in Rio were the first ones that I've really sat down and watched. This was in part due to one of my friends who is half blind and plays goalball. As it turns out, he's a future Olympic hopeful! Anyway, when I was watching I was amazed at what I saw. My favorite event was swimming. In Paralympic swimming, athletes are separated into categories based on their disabilities. One of the categories I watched was the S6 category, which consisted of swimmers of short stature, amputations of both arms, and coordination problems on one side of their body. The most inspiring part of that event was watching a woman with no arms swim the 100-meter freestyle. Her determination was just incredible. I was at a loss for words as I was watching.
If we see amazing feats like this during the Paralympics, then why do we not see it on TV? During the Rio Games this year, over 2,000 hours of Olympic coverage were broadcast, yet there were only 66 hours of televised coverage during the Paralympics. Another factor is that NBC only broadcast Paralympic events on NBC Sports, not on all their channels like they did with the Olympics. In addition, there were almost no advertisements telling viewers when the Paralympics were to be shown. The only time I can remember them being mentioned were during the Olympic sponsor commercials. After the Games ended, I no longer saw anything having to do with the Paralympics. The only reason I knew they were televised at certain times was due to a Facebook post.
It's not fair to these amazing athletes who have jumped over multiple hurdles to get where they are (some figurative, some literal) to deprive them of coverage. Besides, some of them even beat able-bodied Olympic athletes. Just the other day I saw an article from CNN that stated three visually impaired Paralympians running in the 1,500-meter dash would have won gold in the OLYMPICS. Not the Paralympics. THE OLYMPICS. All three of them crushed the Rio Olympic gold medalist's time, yet not many people know that. It's amazing how much these men and women have come to get to Rio. From blindness to cerebral palsy to war to mental disabilities and beyond, these athletes deserve more television time than they get.
Let's think about it this way: how many kids are there who are blind, sick, or have amputations and don't think they'll ever be able to play sports? Maybe they're watching the Olympics and thinking, "I'll never be able to do that." If they had more opportunities to watch the Paralympics, then they'd realize that no matter their disability, they too can play the sports they love. Wouldn't you want your kid to do what they love?
I mentioned earlier that one of my friends is a Paralympic hopeful. If he does end up going to the 2020 Tokyo Games, you can bet I'll be watching every chance I get. And hopefully, so will the rest of the world.
