Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 12 - 18 October 2000 Issue No. 503
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

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The struggle is what counts

Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, gave a German the inspiration for the Paralympic Games. "The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part," De Coubertin said. "The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle."

Swimmer Zeidan could win three medals from the six events he's entering; although playing in an international tournament for the first time, the volleyballers could net a bronze; Mohamed and Khairy, above, might throw the shotput and javelin far enough to spear a medal each photos: Yossry Aql and Khaled El-Fiqi

Armed with those words was Sir Ludwig, an eminent German neurologist and neurosurgeon who, during World War II, was asked by the British government to set up a spinal injuries centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. Sir Ludwig, nicknamed "De Coubertin of the paralysed," gave his reasons for introducing sporting activities as two-fold: To train the body and, second, to prevent the boredom of hospital life. The way he saw it, sports develop mental attitudes which are essential for social reintegration.

Sir Ludwig's philosophy was to have a far-reaching impact on the lives of paralysed spinal cord patients through introducing sports into the treatment and rehabilitation programme of his patients. It led him to organise the first Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948. Just two teams took part -- the Stoke Mandeville Hospital and the Star and Garter Home for the Disabled-- and just one sport, archery, was played. Sixteen athletes in wheelchairs participated.

Very few of those present shared Sir Ludwig's optimism. In fact, it was four years later the Games took on an international flavour when a small team of paralysed Dutch war veterans crossed the English Channel to join their British comrades in the Games in 1952. The Games thereafter became an annual event at Stoke Mandeville, with more and more countries participating in an increasing number of sports events.

The year 1960 saw the realisation of Sir Ludwig's dream when the International Stoke Mandeville Games were held in Rome, the city of the Olympic Games. Four hundred paralysed athletes representing 23 countries joined in archery, basketball, darts, fencing, javelin, shotput, club throwing, snooker, swimming, table tennis and the pentathlon.

Since 1960, with the exception of 1984, the Games for the disabled have been held every four years, following every Olympiad. Most Paralympics are held in the Olympics host city; Israel in 1972 and The Netherlands in 1980 have been exceptions.

The International Coordinating Committee of World Sports Organisations for the Disabled (ICC) was founded in 1981. In 1983, following its first formal meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, the ICC was admitted into the Olympic family. In 1985, the IOC and ICC agreed to substitute "Olympic Games for Disabled" for "Paralympic Games." Seoul 1988 witnessed the first official Paralympic Games.

 

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