Champs at the Paralympics
Our Paralympic athletes are rocking Beijing this week. At the Olympics, Canada impressed us by bringing home 18 medals. We already have 29 at the Paralympic Games and the competitions are only half over!
Canadians are doing very well in athletics and 15 of our podium finishes have been in swimming. We swept both the women’s 100m butterfly and women’s 200m individual medley events. We also have two medals in equestrian and one in cycling.
Some athletes are scooping up numerous medals. They’re not challenging Michael Phelp’s record, but swimmers Chelsey Gotell and Valerie Grand Maison both have four top three finishes. In fact, all 29 medals have been won by 14 athletes. That’s pretty impressive in my books.
I haven’t been able to watch the competitions, but just seeing the medal count rise spreads the national pride. It’s easy to forget about the Olympics after the closing ceremony, but the Paralympians work just as hard to get to the international level – if not harder – and deserve our attention as well. All of our athletes need our support … and not just every four years.
Cheryl
A Bit Of Everything Sports said,
September 12, 2008 at 10:13 am
I feel bad for the one athlete that won the 5000m wheelchair, Diane Roy , when half the field crashed and because of a protest they took away her win and made them re-race all 5000m again and she had to settle for the silver. Still a great accomplishment but a bit unfair.
Dan Cheek said,
September 12, 2008 at 10:38 am
It’s a shame these games don’t receive as much attention. I think the level of competition in these games is amazing, so far.