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When* I watch cycling, I don't deliberately watch the women's sport. I do, however, watch with great enthusiasm when I turn on GCN+ and that's what happens to be playing. The way I see it is that if I enjoy a sport and witnessing excellence in a sport, I don't care who's doing it. I just want to see it.
I would apply the same to the paralympics. I have never in my life gone out of my to watch anything, but I have seen some of the competitions on occasion and thoroughly enjoyed them.
The question is: wouldn't it be better to just run the Olympics over an additional period of time, during which the different competitions take place alongside each other? For example, one day you might see a certain series of track-based races with the fully able-bodied athletes, and the next you might see another series with paralympian athletes. I know that I would likely watch with the same level of enthusiasm - if for no other reason than it's just more good competition.
Mightn't such an approach work better than the separation of the two? Because right now, the paralympics seem to get treated as an after-thought... much like women's cycling (sometimes).
The Commonwealth Games did this in Glasgow iirc?
I'm not sure the logistics of the Olympics can quite manage the additional athletes, support staff etc, though I like the idea.
Had a couple of days at the London Paralympics, and it was the most amazing and uplifting sporting event I've attended. Seeing disabled kids in wheelchairs etc getting selfies with their Paralympic heroes, wearing their medals etc, was properly amazing. Maybe some of that special atmosphere might be lost at a mixed games, I don't know.
It makes sense to me but I don't know how much crossover their is, quite a few Paralympic sports are unique and others might require specific courts/fields/tracks/courses etc compared to the able bodied equivalent.
Logistics - the Paralympics use the same facilities as the Olympics (stadium, housing, catering, staff, etc). To run both at the same time would require double the amount of facilities. Hence the reason why they are run as separate events. The Commonwealth Games had a few events, which could easily be slotted in.
Is it better to mix them up or host a specific showcase event where the para events aren't tagged on or perceived as an afterthought?
To run both at the same time would require double the amount of facilities.
No, it would just take longer.
I've seen this being discussed on telly before. The paralympians (at least the ones talking) wanted their own competition, because they didn't want their sports to be overshadowed by the able bodied ones. You can only watch so much, they can only screen so much, so broadcasters and viewers would most likely end up gravitating towards the big names.
It doesn't really matter if viewers don't get to see the 3 day eventing quarter finals or whatever, but it really does matter if no-one gets to see a decent amount of Paralympic sport.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/dec/09/peter-white-paralympics-separate-olympics
I’ve seen this being discussed on telly before.
Oh right. I'm glad to hear that it is a discussion at least. And thanks for the Peter White link. I've always appreciated his commentary.