And I hope the media showcase it like they did in London – because London was a phenomenal Games.
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There were also fears that major budget cuts and a delay in travel grants being paid to athletes could affect the Games. The animated figures displayed represent the Paralympians engaging in different games and sports.
Ibrahim HAMADTOU, the armless Egyptian player who became an internet sensation after making his guest appearance and playing with the world’s top able-bodied players at the 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships, will face off world number four David WETHERILL (GBR) and 2011 European Team Champion Thomas RAU (GER) in the group stage for his chance for Paralympic glory in the Men’s Class 6 event in Rio.
The Labour frontbencher said: “It is great to see that so many British athletes are tipped for gold medals across a range of events, building on the unprecedented success of Paralympics GB in London and the fantastic Olympic performance of Team GB in Brazil”.
Vinicius Lummertz, the Brazilian Tourism Board head, said that tourism will grow in the coming years in Brazil due to the extensive coverage that the global press gave to the Olympic Games and are expected to give to the Paralympics. To a noticeable degree, stories of the athletes’ perseverance have helped change the views of people who watch the Paralympics.
Rio Paralympics organizers have seen an uptick in ticket sales in recent days, announcing Tuesday that 1.6 million tickets have been sold.
One of Ferreira’s athletes, Fanie van der Merwe, is competing in his third Olympics and the T37 2008 and 2012 track gold medallist is preparing for his final Paralympics, having already wrapped up his career on South African soil.
Don has four medals for the three Paralympic games that he participated in and now manages numerous athletes competing in Rio.
“I don’t want the movement to plateau or become stagnant”, said USA wheelchair basketball player Desiree Miller, who also competed in London.
“I’m getting ready to cry everyday during the Paralympic Games”.
“We’ve known all along the power of the Paralympic movement, but London was the first time it got shown to the community in a really big way, not only from a production standpoint, from a spectator standpoint”.
“We need to decide where Paralympic sport should go from here”.
Fernandes will not be competing in Rio after failing to qualify, but he says he will be doing his part to educate viewers as a commentator on TV.
Around 15 per cent of the world’s population has a disability, according to the World Health Organisation, and people fleeing conflict are disproportionately affected.
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“So it is a bit of a shock for us but we know we’ve done everything we can to prepare our athletes and look, it’s come down to personal choice”.
