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Paralympics Should be Integrated into Main Olympic Games
Abstract and Figures
Paralympic Games (PG), involving people with disabilities (PWD), are a manifestation of excellence in sport. They show that athletics performed by PWD counts as genuine sport. They also support a wider meaning of the term ‘health,’ understood not just like a utopian state of perfection, but like the ability to realize oneself in the projects and activities of one’s own choosing. Notwithstanding these virtues, PG—in their current form—may paradoxycally reinforce social prejudice against PWD. This is due to the fact that PG and Olympic Games (OG) are now two distinct events. In this article, I argue that PG should be integrated in the OG, just like women’s and ‘minor’ sports, because the separation of PG and OG indicates a morally arbitrary separation between people with and without disabilities. I also propose to remove the word ‘Para-lympic’ because it stigmatizes the sport performed by PWD as an appendix of ‘normal’ sport. Athletes with disabilities deserve special attention because they have special needs; but they also deserve an arena where their excellence is offered to the public, and this arena should not be different from that of normal-bodied athletes.
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... Although the Paralympic Games are intended as a mega-event parallel to the Olympic Games, Kell, Kell, and Price (2008) believe that they are nothing but a "side show." Adding to this, Bellieni (2015) said that the Paralympic Games remain separated from the "major" Olympic Games and that "they are a satellite of the Olympic Games." For Bellieni (2015, 77), this "separation between the two manifestations sends the message that the two classes of athletes are not genuinely equal." ...
... As identified earlier in this article, since the late 1980s (namely the Seoul 1988 Games), the Paralympic Games have accompanied the Olympic Games with increasing success, including new sports and catering to a wider range of disabilities, supporting the belief that access to sport should be open to all on equal terms (see Bellieni 2015). However, there is no doubt that there is still an imbalanced relationship between the two mega-events. ...
... However, there is no doubt that there is still an imbalanced relationship between the two mega-events. We previously highlighted how Bellieni (2015) claimed that separation between the Olympic and Paralympic Games sends the message that the two classes of athletes are not equal, which could also be inferred in regard to PWDs who are spectators at the Olympic Games too. A critical point from Darcy et al. (2017) was that one of the most significant differences between the Olympics and the Paralympics is the importance of accessibility. ...
Following the commercialization of the Olympic movement at the Los Angeles 1984 Games, and Seoul 1988 being the first city for over twenty years to host both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the same location, there has been an increasing variety of literature that explores how the Olympic/Paralympic Games can be inclusive within the context of disability. In this article, we analyze scholarly perspectives regarding accessibility and provisions for persons with disabilities (PWDs) at the Olympic and Paralympic Games from Sydney 2000 to London 2012. We then explore the concept of legacy linked to the Olympic/Paralympic movement from London 2012 to Beijing 2022, before considering some areas of future research that are required in terms of accessibility and PWDs provisions at future Games. While a host of literature has addressed inclusivity and improving facilities both within venues and in the city or region hosting the Games, we assert that more PWD spectators (and athletes), particularly at the Olympic Games, need to be heard to ensure they have a positive experience pre, during and post the Games. This could lead to improvements for PWDs at future Games including Paris 2024, Milano-Cortina d’Ampezzo 2026, LA 2028, and beyond.
... This sometimes involves many hours of hard work and training to achieve the required performance. This means that these disabled athletes have greater needs derived from their abilities (Bellieni, 2015) and, therefore, show a greater risk of social exclusion as they are unable to reconcile their demanding sporting lives with academic training to secure a future (Collins et al., 2014). ...
Since the European Year of Education through Sport (EYES, 2004), sport has been recognised as an important cultural, social and economic phenomenon in the European Union, fully recognising the right of sportspeople (e.g. athletes, coaches, referees, sport managers and volunteers) to combine their academic/work and sport careers (e.g. dual career). This book is intended to raise awareness among sport institutions and organisations of the need to cooperate to overcome problems related to the combination of education/ work and competitive sport, to promote awareness of the need to develop dual career paths, and to foster exchanges of best practices at local, regional, national and European level. It gathers research, projects and practical experiences from an academic approach that will serve as an updated reference to the different skateholders involved in the Dual Career.
... When using Paralympic sports in educational interventions though, it is important to be aware of some criticisms. For example, Bellieni (2015) took issue with the Paralympics event itself by arguing that it ought to be part of the Olympics. He argued that the term Paralympics takes away from the fact that these professionals are displaying great feats of athleticism. ...
Students with disabilities face attitudinal barriers to social inclusion. Poor attitudes toward disability can impact friendship development between students with and without disabilities and result in social exclusion. Fortunately, a body of literature exists, which suggests that educational interventions can help to enhance students’ attitudes toward disability. Such interventions, however, vary in both their approach to teaching students about disability experiences and their effectiveness. This paper presents the Tripartite Intervention, a 12-lesson intervention created for junior-level elementary students that targets cognitive, behavioural, and affective dimensions of attitude. This paper provides a high-level overview of the intervention lessons, as well as, offers readers some practical considerations for implementation. Those interested in utilizing the Tripartite Intervention for educational or research purposes are encouraged to contact the author for intervention materials and training opportunities.
... The increase in public interest in sport for athletes with disability, now commonly known as para-sport (International Paralympic Committee 2016), has been rapid and impressive, with the Paralympic Games now deemed second only to the Olympic Games in popularity (Blauwet and Willick 2012;Legg and Steadward 2011;Pappous, Marcellini, and de L es eleuc 2011). Para-sport is now also accepted as highly competitive (Prystupa, Prystupa, and Bolach 2006), professional (Harrasser 2017) and prestigious (Bellieni, 2015;Gold and Gold 2007), with Paralympic athletes delivering outstanding performances that rival the results of non-disabled athletes (Pappous et al. 2011). ...
Coaching is a critical factor in the development, training and success of athletes, yet coaching of athletes with disability is significantly underrepresented in the research literature. This research explored the education, training and professional development experiences of coaches of elite athletes with disability. Semi-structured interviews were held with 12 coaches of elite athletes from sports including swimming, athletics, cycling, canoeing, triathlon, equestrian sport and wheelchair basketball. Results showed that coaches reported there was very little inclusion of information specific to disability in the accredited training courses for the sports included in this study. Furthermore, collegial collaboration, experiential learning and iterative self-reflection were the three professional development sources considered to be of most value.
... authors published their analysis on appropriate and inappropriate uses of mascots in sport, including Morris (2015) and Lindsay (2015). Other hot topics in high-performance sport included the moral status of Arnerican football (Sailors, 2015;Findler, 2015), the moral acceptability of fighting in ice hockey (Zakhem, 2015), the inclusion of transgender and intersex athletes (Gleaves & Lehrbach, 2016), and the impact of the continued bifurcation of Paralympic and Olympie events for athletes with disabilities (Bellieni, 2015). Martínková and Parry (2015a) examine the place of biting in sports rules, especially in combat and contact sports. ...
The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the sport philosophy literature
published in 2015 and 2016
Equitable access to sport for disabled people remains challenging, and technology is often viewed as a way of addressing barriers. However, little is known about how disability is approached in such research and the purpose of sport that is afforded to disabled people. We address this issue in a review of 60 publications in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. We leverage Template Analysis in combination with Mueller and Young’s lenses on virtues of sport to also explore the experiential side of sports technology for disabled people. Our results are threefold: (1) We show that disability shifts the intended purpose of sports technology away from leisure to health, and that technologies such as exergames are viewed as an opportunity to replace real-world sport to address barriers and increase motivation. (2) We highlight that in(ter)dependence plays a strong role in technology development, but that disabled people are not extensively involved in research. (3) We show that virtues beyond health as per Mueller and Young do apply to existing work, but that value frameworks need to be re-worked in the context of disability, placing a stronger emphasis on sport as leisure, and the enriching role that technology can play.
The presence of pain in the earliest phases of human development is a recent acquisition of modern medicine and physiology. The main arguments against fetal and neonatal sentience and pain have been overcome: the full development of the cortex is not necessary to feel pain because the main structures needed for pain are in situ after the first half of pregnancy: peripheral receptors, neural spino-thalamic fibers, pain neurotransmitters, the thalamus, and the subplate. Fetuses have a rudimental though essential sense of experience. They have a primordial consciousness that becomes more and more efficient as the brain cortex is developing, and that will bloom with the arrival of the multiple stimuli given at, and after, birth. If we associate the “meaning of pain” with the ability to self-ascribe “pain,” it clearly does not exist at this stage of human development. But if we use the word “meaning” to express how pain affects the fetus/newborn, this has three levels. First, suffering and the changes it provokes, that can help bystanders to care correctly; second, the impact of pain on fetal development; and third, the anxiety, that we cannot measure in the fetus and newborn, but that is presumably present, because both the fetus and newborn have active centers (amygdala and thalamus) to experience these feelings. Conclusion: Fetuses and very preterm babies live in a word of drowsiness, similar to adults' imageless dream; when external stimuli disrupt the fetus/preterm-baby, this sort of dream can become similar to a nightmare.
This practical advance paper outlines the complexity of simultaneously coaching in Olympic and Paralympic disciplines of canoeing. The paper integrates applied experience from the Tokyo Games with a critical review of disability literature to explore the importance of the creation of shared mental models to inform the development of a performance vision in elite sport. The paper first addresses the design and development of complex performance visions, which underpins the delivery of such elite programmes. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the paper addresses the fundamental issue that Paralympic sport is not a microcosm of Olympic sport and that performance visions and coaching processes created in an able-bodied environment cannot be cut, copied, and pasted into a Paralympic setting. Offering applied insight from this unique dual perspective, the paper discusses the complexity of designing a well-structured performance vision. We propose that although such performance visions developed in Olympic and Paralympic contexts share some similarities, the design of shared mental models needs to be bespoke to the performance setting. The paper articulates the additional complexities of shared mental models deployed in a paracanoe setting and offers recommendations as to how we can better support the construction of performance visions in Paralympic sport.
Purpose
: To examine the lived experiences of the integrated model of elite sport from the perspective of parasport insiders.
Research design
: Since 2002, an integrated model for competition has been implemented by Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF). Commonwealth Games XXI was selected as a relevant location to conduct research regarding integration. Ethnographic methods included interviews, go-along conversations and observation. Interviews were conducted with Games personnel to enhance understandings of integration in sport. Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted to determine significant themes.
Findings
: The findings confirmed that integration is considered the preferred model among non-athletes who were unanimous in their support. Analysis indicated that the parasport athlete experience was mixed, reflecting negative and positive experiences. Three themes were identified as impactful of the athlete experience: ableization, size of the parasport contingent, lack of unified collective voice.
Practical implications
: Future research that examines whose assumptions inform decision making and program delivery is necessary to determine the merits and drawbacks of integration in sport.
Research contributions
: By foregrounding the lived experiences of a group of parasport insiders, the research generates unique insights into the integrated model of sport from a perspective that is often missing, and credibly informs those who manage integration in sport.
Sport for elite athletes with disability is gaining recognition comparable to its non-disabled counterpart, with Paralympians considered among the world’s elite athletes. The value of sports coaching to the development, training and success of athletes with disability is similarly recognised. This research explored the views and experiences of administrators and policymakers working at a senior level in Australian organisations with oversight of coaches of elite athletes with physical disability, focussing on factors influencing their recruitment and retention. Semi-structured interviews were held with 10 participants working in organisations with responsibility for a range of sports including athletics, swimming, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, equestrian sport, triathlon, cycling, rowing, goal ball, boccia, football and power lifting. Results identified that there were barriers to recruiting coaches to work with athletes with disability, primarily due to preconceptions of stigma, and the perceived need for disability-specific knowledge. However, the coaches’ retention rates were substantially higher than that of coaches in general, with reported factors including personal satisfaction, richer interpersonal relationships and enhanced career progression.
It is difficult for caregivers to have clear awareness of their aim, health, because the present WHO definition of health has widely been criticised as utopian and misleading. It might be helpful to consider health as the realisation of our desires, that is, the possibility of restoring previous skills or to perform skills the average person can perform. Desires differ according to age and possible underlying pathologies; even the possibility of expressing them can be different. So we outline some consequences: 1) health will be attained even in the presence of a disease, if the desire of the patient is not the disappearance of the disease-he/she is aware of the ineluctability of the disease- but is orientated to obtain other gratifications; 2) even nonverbal patients can express desires, so health can be in their range; 3) considering health not as the realization of desires but of wishes may contrast with the principles of justice and non-maleficence, as will be highlighted in the text.
Purpose:
To study the reliability and validity of the perceived self-efficacy in wheeled mobility scale among elite athletes with a spinal cord injury (SCI).
Method:
During the Beijing Paralympics, 79 participants with SCI completed the SCI Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale (ESES), the revised Self-Efficacy in Wheeled Mobility scale (SEWM) and the perceived wheeled mobility (WM) at present Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Sample included athletes from 18 countries and subcategorized by gender, lesion level/completeness and type of sports. Reliability and concurrent validity were determined.
Results:
SEWM Cronbach's α was 0.905. High internal consistency was confirmed in Split-half correlation coefficient (r = 0.87). Validity was supported by significant correlations between SWEM and ESES total scores (r = 0.64, p < 0.05), and between SEWM and WM VAS scores (r = 0.60; p < 0.001). Subgroups analyses showed that athletes with tetraplegia showed significantly lower WM self-efficacy levels than those with paraplegia. There was a significant difference in perceived WM self-efficacy between athletes who participated in dynamic wheelchair sports and those who participated in non-wheelchair sports (p < 0.03).
Conclusions:
The SEWM is a reliable and valid scale among Paralympic athletes with SCI. Findings confirmed a significantly higher perception of self-efficacy in WM among athletes who participated in dynamic wheelchair sports.
Implications for rehabilitation:
• Increased self-efficacy in wheeled mobility (WM) may encourage wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (SCI) to approach, persist, and persevere at WM related tasks that were previously avoided. • The perceived self-efficacy in WM scale (SEWM), which is available on-line in five different languages, may find clinical applications for people with SCI in different countries. • The SEWM can be applied to the assessment of progress in WM levels during the acute rehabilitation phase, and also in structured WM workshops conducted after discharge from the hospital.
A biomechanical analysis of sports performance provides an objective method of determining performance of a particular sporting technique. In particular, it aims to add to the understanding of the mechanisms influencing performance, characterization of athletes and provide insights into injury predisposition. While the performance in sport of able-bodied athletes is well recognized in the literature, less information and understanding are known on the complexity, constraints and demands placed on the body of an individual with a disability. This article provides a dialogue that outlines scientific issues of the performance analysis of multi-level athletes with a disability, including Paralympians. Four integrated themes are explored, the first of which focuses on how biomechanics can contribute to the understanding of sports performance in athletes with a disability and how it may be used as an evidence-based tool. This latter point questions the potential for a possible cultural shift led by the emergence of user-friendly instruments. The second theme briefly discusses the role of reliability of sports performance and addresses the debate of two-dimensional and three-dimensional analyses. The third theme addresses key biomechanical parameters and provides guidance to clinicians and coaches on the approaches adopted using the biomechanical/sports performance analysis for an athlete with a disability starting out, to the emerging and elite Paralympian. For completeness of this discourse, the final theme is based on the controversial issues on the role of assisted devices, and the inclusion of Paralympians into able-bodied sport. All combined, this dialogue highlights the intricate relationship between biomechanics and training of individuals with a disability. Furthermore, it illustrates the complexity of modern training of athletes, which can only lead to a better appreciation of the performances to be delivered in the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Clinical relevance
Biomechanical analysis can play a fundamental role in optimizing the performance of an athlete with a disability. Clinicians should be aware and understand the mechanisms that may influence performance and have an appreciation of the factors that may predispose such athletes to injury.
From a very young age we are told not to stare, and one hallmark of maturation is the ability to resist (or at least hide) our staring behavior. And yet, rarely do we master the impulse. Despite the complicated role it plays in our development, and its unique brand of visual enticement, staring has not been considered before as a suitable object for socio-cultural analysis. What is it about certain kinds of people that makes it impossible to take our eyes off them? Why are some visual stimuli irresistible? Why does staring produce so much anxiety? Drawing on examples from art, media, fashion, history and memoir, Garland-Thomson defines staring, explores the factors that motivate it, and considers the targets and the effects of the stare. A bodily inventory then enumerates how stares actually operate in daily life. A section on "Bodies" focuses on the question of size and scale as key indicators of normalcy, while certain body parts show themselves to be disproportionately arresting, as passages on "Faces" "Hands" and "Breasts" reveal. A concluding chapter on "Beholding" considers the frisson at play between starer and staree and offers an alternative way of understanding visual communication between people. Featuring over forty illustrations, Staring captures the stimulating combination of symbolic, material and emotional factors that make staring so irresistible while endeavoring to shift the usual response to staring, shame, into an engaged self-consideration. Elegant and provocative, this book advances new ways of thinking about visuality and the body that will appeal to readers who are interested in the overlap between the humanities and human behaviors.
While clearly not intended to do so, the Paralympics and the notion of disability associated with them provides significant opportunity for ethical reflection on how far society has not come regarding disability. Yet, this opportunity to explore disability has rarely been taken up. Instead, the overwhelming representation of people with disability within mainstream media is found in portrayals of brave, elite athletes who overcome their disability. As has been suggested by earlier studies of media and disability, such media representations fit well within the established power relations which oppress people with disability in society. While there have been some changes and improvements, we contend that, overwhelmingly, the separation between the Paralympics and Olympics is not questioned, and that if the Paralympics are reported at all, disabling media representations still very much persist.
In this paper we argue that a new model of disability is emerging within the literature by disabled people and within disability culture, expressed most clearly by the Disability Arts Movement. For the purposes of discussion we call it the affirmative model. It is essentially a non-tragic view of disability and impairment which encompasses positive social identities, both individual and collective, for disabled people grounded in the benefits of lifestyle and life experience of being impaired and disabled. This view has arisen in direct opposition to the dominant personal tragedy model of disability and impairment, and builds on the liberatory imperative of the social model. Critiques of the latter have been consistently expressed as, or interpreted as, re-affirmations of personal tragedy, particularly in relation to impairment. In this analysis the affirmation model addresses the limitations of the social model through the realisation of positive identity encompassing impairment, as well as disability.
Paralympic medicine describes the health-care issues of those 4500 or so athletes who gather every 4 years to compete in 20 sports at the Summer Paralympic Games and in five sports at the Winter Paralympic Games. Paralympic athletes compete within six impairment groups: amputation or limb deficiencies, cerebral palsy, spinal cord-related disability, visual impairment, intellectual impairment, or a range of physically impairing disorders that do not fall into the other classification categories, known as les autres. The variety of impairments, many of which are severe, fluctuating, or progressive disorders (and are sometimes rare), makes maintenance of health in thousands of Paralympians while they undertake elite competition an unusual demand on health-care resources. The increased physical fitness of athletes with disabilities has important implications for cardiovascular risk reduction in a population for whom the prevalence of risk factors can be high.
