Tag: Paralympics

Jailed South African Paralympic Star Pistorius Met Victim’s Father

JOHANNESBURG—Former South Africa paralympic superstar Oscar Pistorius, jailed in 2016 for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, last week met her father, a lawyer for the Steenkamp family said on Friday. The lawyer, Tania Koen, said Pistorius took part in a process known as victim-offender dialogue—an integral part of South Africa’s restorative justice program that brings…


Unbeaten

‘Unbeaten,’ the second film from award-winning documentary filmmakers Steven C. Barber and Tamara Henry, is an inspirational story that chronicles the exploits of 31 paraplegics for six days, as they make their way in wheelchairs and hand cycles in the toughest road race in the world. The course winds 267 miles though the mountain passes…


Ukrainian Athletes Sweep the Podium at Beijing Winter Paralympics, Finishing Second in Medal Count

Ukrainian Paralympic athletes have pushed through their fears and won their biggest haul of gold medals in Beijing as a crisis unfolds at home. The 2022 Winter Paralympic Games just ended in Beijing. The Ukrainian team stole the show by finishing second in the medal count, winning a record 29 medals, including 11 golds. Ukraine…


Winter Paralympics, Gymnastics, Curling, Soccer Oust Russia From Competition

The 10-day Winter Paralympics opened Friday in Beijing, while athletes from Russia and Belarus were forced home. The Paralympics Committee Organizers reversed their announcement from the previous day that the two countries would be included in the Beijing competition. Andrew Parsons, the president of the International Paralympic Committee, stated at the ceremonies, “As the leader of…


Russian, Belarusian Athletes Barred From Beijing Paralympics: IPC

BEIJING—Russian and Belarusian athletes were barred from the Winter Paralympics in Beijing on the eve of the Games following threats of boycotts by other teams over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said. Belarus has been a key staging area for the full-scale invasion Russia launched on Ukraine a week ago. Thursday’s…


Russians to Compete as ‘Neutral Athletes’ at Paralympics

Russians and Belarusians at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing will compete as “neutral athletes” because of their countries’ roles in the war against Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said Wednesday. Russian athletes had already been slated to compete as RPC, short for Russian Paralympic Committee, as punishment for the state-sponsored doping scandal at the…


The Impossible Dual Focus of the Paralympics

Commentary The Olympic Games are bad enough: you can tell just how bad by the regimes that have considered them important. The Nazis, the Soviets, the Romanians under Ceausescu, all thought that a high tally of medals justified their dictatorships, or at least redounded to their international credit. The Chinese think so now, and even…


Wounded War Veteran Becomes First American to Win Gold in Paralympic Triathlon

A seven-time Paralympic medalist who was permanently blinded while serving the U.S. military in Afghanistan clinched the first-ever gold medal for the United States on Aug. 28 in the men’s PTVI race at the Olympics Games in Tokyo, Japan. “I’m incredibly proud to be a gold medalist for Team USA in the sport of triathlon,”…


2 Afghan Athletes Arrive in Tokyo to Compete in Paralympics

TOKYO—Two athletes from Afghanistan have arrived in Tokyo to compete in the Paralympics, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said Saturday. The two-person team of Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli had flown from Kabul to Paris before continuing on to Tokyo, the IPC said. Khudadadi will be Afghanistan’s first female athlete to compete at the Paralympics…


1st Paralympic Gold Medal Goes to Paige Greco of Australia

TOKYO—Australian cyclist Paige Greco earned the first gold medal of the Tokyo Paralympics, winning the 3,000-meter pursuit on Wednesday on the track at the velodrome. It was the first of 24 gold medals up for grabs on Wednesday as the Paralympics got underway. Medals were also contested in swimming and wheelchair fencing on Wednesday. Greco…