With 38 para-sports medal events integrated with the sports armchair fans are more used to cheering on at the Commonwealth Games, we all get to realise that the sweat, the tears, the dedication are all the same. The elation at winning. The emotion in the post-race interviews.
It’s been one of the best parts of these games, the largest major sporting event to run para-sports at the same time as able-bodied events.
It means the para-sports aren’t relegated to run afterwards, when audiences have hit fatigue levels. If you want fatigue, imagine the training it’s taken to get wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley to three Paralympic gold medals, two Paralympic records and six Australian records. Now he’s retiring from track events, enjoy that well-deserved time off, champ.
When glory’s been rained down upon our able-bodied athletes for so many years, watching pool events interspersed with races featuring swimmers who need assistance to balance on the starting blocks is worth its weight in gold.
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