Jayme Paris

Image : London2012

The London 2012 official paralympics site has some good biographies . I have used it so I can try and get to know some of these Olympians. They are Olympians. Their stories are moving, their courage bottomless and their achievements well worth paying attention to. Makes me think of those people who think life is hard and basically they just won't get off their behinds and help themselves. These athletes are a good example to us all. One who has really won my interest is Jayme Paris. I liked her the first time I saw her and could see just how courageous and then how well trained she was. When you read her blog Jayme Richardson-Paris  you can see she has had to fight so hard from the moment she was born. One of our young equestrians has a similar tough story where she lost both her parents. None of them bleat on or use any of their hardships and emotional battles as an excuse or sympathy getter. These people have drawn strength from their trauma and what a wake up call for the rest of us. I have just watched Jayme win her bronze medal and my heart was in my mouth. I think the commentator was getting very emotional too. It was so touching. Her body started to wobble and yet you watched this woman rise above the physical discomfort and get on the way really well and then she was wobbling again. She holds it all together. She is obviously a very special woman who knows how to tough it out through the sorts of difficulties she has to manage and then draw on her training to pull her back to the top. We cannot help but be inspired and moved by these  great performances. They have been the talk of the town for sure. We have been grateful our commentators have done such a good job of joining the dots for us and interviewing some of the athletes. It has been a presentation which has involved us in a real way. 

Paralympic Games a winner

Well, the consensus of opinion around here is the Paralympic Games 2012  are just great. We loved the opening ceremony and thought it was dazzling, warm, touching and very inspirational. We have been raving about it. It was just so good. We have liked being around the desk as we get to know the athletes in such a comfortable, friendly open way. We have been impressed with the information which has been provided formally and informally so we can better understand the ways the athletes are categorised and then how they manage and can manage. We have noticed that it is not full of  marketing and monetizing hype. The althetes are just genuinely good athletes trying to win gold. You can see people actually doing their best and making things happen. We are all full of the different athletes who inspired us. I love the female swimmer who really only has use of one arm. She is so good. Then I love the blond female cyclist. The names are not popping onto our tongues as is the case with the Olympics - and do you know what? That's good. We are not fighting the media hype to really get to know these althletes and we can just watch them perform and do well. We know who we are talking about. We can get involved in events because they are not over in 2 seconds where we are clueless as to  who is in front....or it'sway too obvious. We can see a competition. A race. A progression to first place. These games are uplifting. They are making us really love sport again because we are more genuinley involved.