Hi everybody, some days ago in class, we have discovered the Paralympic Games of London which is the same concept that the Olympics ones but with disabled athletes. I have found this subject very interesting and I think that writing a post about it could help people learn more about it . So keep reading ☺

So, I am going to take the example of Jessica Tatiana Long, a woman I admire a lot to support my arguments and feelings. Jessica was born in Russia the 29/02/1992 but at the age of 13 months she was adopted by American people. However, due to a disease ( fibular herminelia ) -which is characterized by the absence of certain leg bones - her two legs have been amputated at only 18 months and she had to learn how to walk with artificial legs.
In an interview she says that all her childhood long she felt « she was not existence » and was feeling really bad about her handicap. Despite this, after some years she noticed that she had great capacities in sport.

At the beginning, she was part of a gymnastic club but considering how the sport could damage more her legs she had to stop. At 10 years old, she began swimming and with the influence of her family, at the age of 12 she participated in the Paralympics (2004). She finally won 3 medals in swimming and became the youngest athlete to win a Paralympic games. Here began her incredible career in this sport.

After reading her story don't you feel inspired ?
I am not going to explain or tell you all her story but today she won 29 medals ( 16 gold ) and even wrote a book : Unsinkable, an autobiography about her journey.

To come back on the Paralympics, the first 'representation' took place in Stoke Mandeville a small village in England on July, 29 1948. Since that date, it has improved and developed a lot.
In my opinion, i think that without these kinds of events we would have never saw or discovered any amazing disabled athletes. Moreover, it helps many disabled people feeling better about themselves and allows everyone believing that even if you have been amputated or do not have a limb, it doesn't really matter; you can still accomplish many achievements.