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What do the Paralympics mean to you?
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- Posted August 29, 2012 by
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- Echerneff, CNN iReport producer
"Look up at the stars, and not down at your feet,"
was Prof Stephen Hawking’s opening message, a world-renowned physicist who has motor neuronal disease.
Among the 580 torchbearers of the London Paralympic Games 2012, Theresa Robberts, Sarah, Dianne, Danielle and Ramona were the young people carrying the Paralympic Flame on the Torch Relay leg between Abbey Road (St John’s Wood) and into Lord's Cricket Ground, home to the world's oldest sporting museum, one of London's most famous landmarks, which will play host to the Paralympic Archery competition.
These athletes with visual impairment ranging from partial vision, to total blindness were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to take part in one of the greatest Paralympics ever, with billions of people watching worldwide.
They are the founding members of the first Blind Cricket Women Team in Europe, being an inspiration for generations of young people.
Each International Inspiration Torchbearer was nominated and selected either for their dedication and commitment to inspiring young people in their communities through the power of sport, or for the personal challenges they have overcome in their lives.
The first organized athletic event for disabled athletes that coincided with the Olympic Games took place on the day of the opening of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. German born of Jewish origins, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann of Stoke Mandeville Hospital, who had been helped to flee Nazi Germany by the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics (CARA) in 1939, hosted a sports competition for British World War II veteran patients with spinal cord injuries. The first games were called the 1948 International Wheelchair Games, and were intended to coincide with the 1948 Olympics.
Dr. Guttman's aim was to create an elite sports competition for people with disabilities that would be equivalent to the Olympic Games.
“Spirit in Motion” is the motto for the Paralympic movement. The symbol for the Paralympics contains three colours, red, blue, and green, which are the colours most widely represented in the flags of nations. The colours are each in the shape of an Agito (which is Latin for "I move"). The three Agitos circle a central point, which is a symbol for the athletes congregating from all points of the globe.
The 2012 Paralympic games will truly be a "journey of discovery":
"The Olympics made us proud but I think (the Paralympics) will make us prouder still... It's been a sell-out and I think that's a great story for our country.” Prime Minister David Cameron said before the opening ceremony.
Sources: Personal notes, Wikipedia, BBC/Sky website,
In the photos:
Theresa Robberts carring the Paralympic Torch © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
Paralympic Agitos, the official symbol of the 2012 Paralympic Games hang from Tower Bridge in London © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
Wenlock and Mandeville mascots depicting two drops of steel © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
Torchbearers exchange the Paralympic flame outside Lord's Cricket Ground in London, on Wednesday, August 29 © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
Theresa Robberts and her frend Dianne exchanging the Paralympic flame outside Lord's Cricket Ground © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
Theresa Robberts caring the torch into into Lord's Cricket Ground © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
Torches used to light a scaled-down version of the Olympic cauldron © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
Lord's Cricket Ground Victorian Pavilion © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
was Prof Stephen Hawking’s opening message, a world-renowned physicist who has motor neuronal disease.
Among the 580 torchbearers of the London Paralympic Games 2012, Theresa Robberts, Sarah, Dianne, Danielle and Ramona were the young people carrying the Paralympic Flame on the Torch Relay leg between Abbey Road (St John’s Wood) and into Lord's Cricket Ground, home to the world's oldest sporting museum, one of London's most famous landmarks, which will play host to the Paralympic Archery competition.
These athletes with visual impairment ranging from partial vision, to total blindness were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to take part in one of the greatest Paralympics ever, with billions of people watching worldwide.
They are the founding members of the first Blind Cricket Women Team in Europe, being an inspiration for generations of young people.
Each International Inspiration Torchbearer was nominated and selected either for their dedication and commitment to inspiring young people in their communities through the power of sport, or for the personal challenges they have overcome in their lives.
The first organized athletic event for disabled athletes that coincided with the Olympic Games took place on the day of the opening of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. German born of Jewish origins, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann of Stoke Mandeville Hospital, who had been helped to flee Nazi Germany by the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics (CARA) in 1939, hosted a sports competition for British World War II veteran patients with spinal cord injuries. The first games were called the 1948 International Wheelchair Games, and were intended to coincide with the 1948 Olympics.
Dr. Guttman's aim was to create an elite sports competition for people with disabilities that would be equivalent to the Olympic Games.
“Spirit in Motion” is the motto for the Paralympic movement. The symbol for the Paralympics contains three colours, red, blue, and green, which are the colours most widely represented in the flags of nations. The colours are each in the shape of an Agito (which is Latin for "I move"). The three Agitos circle a central point, which is a symbol for the athletes congregating from all points of the globe.
The 2012 Paralympic games will truly be a "journey of discovery":
"The Olympics made us proud but I think (the Paralympics) will make us prouder still... It's been a sell-out and I think that's a great story for our country.” Prime Minister David Cameron said before the opening ceremony.
Sources: Personal notes, Wikipedia, BBC/Sky website,
In the photos:
Theresa Robberts carring the Paralympic Torch © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
Paralympic Agitos, the official symbol of the 2012 Paralympic Games hang from Tower Bridge in London © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
Wenlock and Mandeville mascots depicting two drops of steel © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
Torchbearers exchange the Paralympic flame outside Lord's Cricket Ground in London, on Wednesday, August 29 © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
Theresa Robberts and her frend Dianne exchanging the Paralympic flame outside Lord's Cricket Ground © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
Theresa Robberts caring the torch into into Lord's Cricket Ground © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
Torches used to light a scaled-down version of the Olympic cauldron © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
Lord's Cricket Ground Victorian Pavilion © 2012 Nora de Angelli/ www.noraphotos.com
- TAGS:
- sports,
- international,
- torch,
- games,
- paralympics,
- event,
- paralympic,
- olympic,
- london
- GROUPS:
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