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| Our local Marketplace creates the most exciting displays with soda cartons! I forgot my camera every time we visited for the Memorial Day display. I told myself I will not forget this time. We just love it! |
The Paralympic Games
In 2012, the city of London will not only be hosting the Olympic Games; it will also be hosting the Paralympic Games. Since 1960, athletes with disabilities have competed in the Paralympic Games. The word paralympic is a combination of the Greek affix para, which means "alongside" or "beside" and the word Olympics. The athletes who qualify for the Paralympic Games have disabilities, such as the following:
blindness or visual impairment
cerebral palsy
intellectual disability
spinal injury
amputation
Though the Paralympic Games weren't officially held until 1960, the beginnings of this event can be traced back to 1948. Back then, an English doctor from Stoke Mandeville Hospital named Ludwig Guttman felt that a competition would be helpful in rehabilitating the many soldiers who were severely injured on the battlegrounds of World War II. He helped organize physical competitions between patients, and these early competitions were referred to as Stoke Mandeville Games. It is from this that 2012 Paralympic mascot Mandeville gets its name.
I will share a few stories about Paralympic athletes this coming week.
