Paralympics Rio 2016
The Rio Paralympics 2016 kicked off last night at the iconic Maracana Stadium in the Brazilian capital. The competition will run from September 7th to the 18th of September. More than 4,000 athletes, representing over 160 teams, paraded along two stages at the Maracana during the Ceremony with each national team having their own flag-bearer. Africa is also well represented at the games with South Africa being the most likely team to win the most medals.
[REPORTING PLAN]
We shall report on the following aspects as the games continue in Rio:
- History of the Paralympics games
The international multi-sport event brings together athletes with a range of disabilities, including impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment and intellectual impairment. It has grown from a small gathering of British World War II veterans in 1948 to become one of the largest international sporting events by the early 21st century.
- African countries participating and the games they will be undertaking
Quite a number of African countries are participating in the games at Rio. South Africa has sent quite a number of athletes to Rio and it would be interesting to see how they fair on. We shall do stories on these teams and also the games they shall be participating in.
- Rio Paralympics refugee team
As was the case at the Olympics, a refugee team has been formed in order to draw the world’s attention to the plight of people around the world who feel the need to risk their lives to escape persecution. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced that a small group of refugee and asylee Para athletes will compete as part of an Independent Paralympic Athletes (IPA) Team at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. The team will compete under the Paralympic Flag, which carries the Paralympic symbol the Agitos.
- African legendary winners
Most of these amazing athletes have had to deal with a lot of things to make the trials and tribulations of regular athletes seem like that time you went to the mall and had to park really far away. We shall profile some of the athletes who have made Africa and their countries proud against all odds. Examples include South Africans Natalie du Toit and Oscar Pistorius amongst other Paralympians.
- Monitoring daily results and African teams participation
We shall be monitoring daily activities at Rio to see how athletes from these African countries are performing. The updates will include pictures and video stories that the newsroom will be doing.
