The 2016 Paralympics began yesterday (Sept 8) with Rio’s Maracana stadium again the iconic setting for the opening ceremony of a Games staged against a backdrop of austerity and doping.
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Wednesday’s opening ceremony began with Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham, a US athlete who is in a wheelchair, rolling down from a massive ramp in the Maracana stadium’s stands to perform a back flip through a giant ring.
China will have a record 308 athletes in Rio looking to beat their 95 gold medals from London when they topped the table for the third straight Paralympics.
However, as the first fireworks exploded and then disappeared into the sky above Brazil’s iconic Maracana stadium, those worries became a distant memory.
Brazilian athlete Clodoaldo da Silva lights the cauldron.
Just as India sent their largest-ever contingent to the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Paralympics Games will also feature 19 athletes from the nation, the highest sent for the event till date.
And there was a Samba-inspired dancing display between a giant robotic arm and American Paralympian snowboarder Amy Purdy, highlighting how technology helps people with disabilities move, compete, and groove. The former Paralympian stumbled in torrential rain shortly after she was handed the torch to a collective groan of anguish from all four corners of the stadium. This follows concerns about half-empty stadiums at numerous Olympics events. “Our aim is to sell around 2.4 million”, Craven said.
Malaysia’s chef de mission Dr Ang Kean Koo and Jalur Gemilang flag-bearer Abdul Latif Romly led the country’s 21 participating athletes, with a mission to to win the first gold medal for the country at the Games.
Snyder said that if people tune in to the games and fans haven’t shown up to watch an event live, they might be more likely to change the channel.
Dame Sarah, who won the C5 3km individual pursuit titles in Beijing and London, is aiming to defend her title and win a 12th Paralympic gold.
Caught in political and economic crises, Rio 2016 organisers have skimped as far as they can on food, transport and accommodation. She has made good progress over the past two years and her three golds at the IPC European Championship suggest a podium position could be possible.
Temer, booed at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games on August 5, was sworn in, despite the fact that, as Rousseff’s vice-president, he is also accused of the same allegations.
The show must go on, but it would be unwise to pretend all is now well.
There was a remarkable moment as the ceremony drew to a close, the crowd expressing their frustration during the speeches of Brazil President Michel Temer and Olympic Committee boss Carlos Arthur Nuzman amid political issues in the country.
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Russia’s team has been barred from the Games in Rio over accusations from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that authorities in the country have masterminded and covered up drug cheating across sports.
