The Paralympics began Tuesday in the same empty National Stadium - during the same pandemic - as the opening and closing ceremonies of the recently completed Tokyo Olympics.
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Japanese Emperor Naruhito got it all started again, this time under the theme ‘We Have Wings’. Among the few on hand were Douglas Emhoff, husband of US Vice President Kamala Harris, International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons and International Olympic President Thomas Bach.
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It was a circus-like opening with acrobats, clowns, vibrant music and fireworks atop the stadium to mark the start of the long parade of athletes.
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The opening ceremony featured the national flags of the 162 delegations represented, which included the refugee team.
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In addition, the flag of Afghanistan was carried by a volunteer despite the delegation not being on hand in Tokyo.
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Comparisons to the Olympics stop with the colourful jamboree, save for the logistical and medical barriers during the pandemic, and the hollowing out of almost everything else.
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Tokyo and Paralympic organisers are under pressure from soaring new infections in the capital.
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About 40 per cent of the Japanese population is fully vaccinated. But daily new cases in Tokyo have increased four to five times since the Olympics opened on July 23.
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Tokyo is under a state of emergency until September 12, with the Paralympics ending September 5.
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Organisers on Tuesday also announced the first positive test for an athlete living in the Paralympic Village. They gave no name or details and said the athlete had been isolated.
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The Paralympics are being held without fans, although organisers are planning to let some schoolchildren attend, going against the advice of much of the medical community.
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Parsons and Seiko Hashimoto, the president of the Tokyo organising committee, say the Paralympics can be held safely. Both have tried to distance the Paralympics and Olympics from Tokyo’s rising infection rate. “For the moment we don’t see the correlation between having the Paralympics in Tokyo with the rising number of cases in Tokyo and Japan,” Parsons said.
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Some medical experts say even if there is no direct link, the presence of the Olympics and Paralympics promoted a false sense of security and prompted people to let down their guard, which may have helped spread the virus.
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The Paralympics are about athletic prowess. The origin of the word is from ‘parallel’ — an event running alongside the Olympics.
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Markus Rehm — known as the ‘Blade Jumper’ — lost his right leg below the knee when he was 14 in a wakeboarding accident, but earlier this year he jumped 8.62 metres, a distance that would have won the last seven Olympics, including the Tokyo Games. Tokyo’s winning long jump was 8.41 metress.
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Tokyo 2020 Paralympics opening ceremony
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“The stigma attached to disability changes when you watch the sport,” said Craig Spence, a spokesman for the International Paralympic Committee. “These games will change your attitude toward disability.”
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Spence added: “If you look around Japan, it’s very rare you see persons with disabilities on the street. We’ve got to go from protecting people to empowering people and creating opportunities for people to flourish in society.”
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Archer Matt Stutzman was born with no arms, just stumps at the shoulders. He holds a world record — for any archer, disabled or otherwise — for the longest, most accurate shot, hitting a target at 310 yards, or about 283 metres. Stutzman, known as the ‘Armless Archer’, has a great sense of humour. He jokes about growing up wanting the be like former NBA star Michael Jordan. “I gave it up,” he deadpans. “I wasn’t tall enough.”
Image Credit: Reuters
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