Rio 2016 Paralympics: On a level... aren't they?

SUPERCHARGED British athletes are set to take to the stage from tonight as the 15th edition of the Summer Paralympic Games begins in Rio de Janeiro.

The spotlight for the next 11 days will fix itself firmly on the likes of Jonnie Peacock, David Weir, Ellie Simmonds and flagbearer Lee Pearson as Paralympics GB look to emulate the overseas success of their Team GB Olympic counterparts.

Officially, UK Sport - the nation's high performance funding agency - has set Paralympics GB a target of 121 medals, one more than in London four years ago.

And, while that might sound extremely ambitious, Great Britain - as the spiritual home of the competition - has a fine Paralympics tradition.

In fact, rather impressively, the British team has always finished in the top five of the Paralympics medal table, and furthermore has finished in the top three in 12 of the 14 editions held so far.

In all-but-one of the last nine Games, Britain has won more than 100 medals - and the one occasion on which the ton was missed, at Athens 2004, there were still 94 medals collected.

Yet, despite these fine achievements, there lingers a justified feeling among some Paralympians that they are second-class athletes - and this really should not be the case at all.

After all, it goes against the whole point of the Paralympics in which the para- part simply refers to the Ancient Greek suffix meaning beside or alongside.

Far from the misconception that the word derives from paralysis or even paraplegic, the Paralympics are therefore meant to be considered parallel to the Olympics.

Unfortunately, the problem with the build-up to Rio 2016 is that this has clearly not been the case.
 
In contast to London, the Paralympics in Rio do not appear to have captured the imagination of the public. 

Reported ticket sales have been desperately slow with only 12% of an original target of 3.3 million tickets sold by mid-August.

Tanni Grey-Thompson, an 11-time Paralympic champion, wrote in the Telegraph: "The prospect of competing in front of near empty stadiums is demoralising."

But Baroness Grey-Thompson also pointed out a much bigger issue has been the way that Paralympics funding has been cut following an over-spend on the Olympics by the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee.

"Never before in the 56-year history of the Paralympic Games have we faced circumstances like this," said International Paralympic Committee president Sir Philip Craven.

The cuts mainly relate to transport services for athletes and their teams, and the closure of a number of venue media centres. Some public parties and gatherings related to the Games have also been cancelled.

At least, thankfully, all 165 competing countries will be able to attend the Games - something which did not look entirely likely at the end of July when the deadline for the issuing of travel grants had been missed by the organisers.

But, of course, it is not just in the organisation of the Paralympic Games that disabled athletes have faced discrimination. Arguably, it is still institutionally prevalent in many sectors.

Just this week, British double Paralympic champion Hannah Cockroft accused sportswear giants Nike and Adidas of not sponsoring her simply because she does not wear shoes during her wheelchair races.

"I wear a shirt, I wear trousers, I wear shoes on the podium when I'm collecting a gold medal. But apparently because that's not when I'm competing, that’s not enough.

"I've been told this by Nike, Adidas, all the big brands. I told them it was discrimination. It is discrimination."

Meanwhile, back in Britain, brutal cuts to the motability allowance by the Conservative government have directly affected Paralympic athletes, as well as thousands of other people.

Determination is undoubtedly one of the greatest strengths of an Olympic or Paralympic athlete, however.

And, if anything, the setbacks and difficulties simply add further fuel to the competitive fires burning deep inside.

Certainly, it is going to make for another great 11 days of sporting drama on television with coverage in the United Kingdom provided, for the second Games in a row, by Channel 4.

Deservedly remaining the televisual home of disability sport, the broadcaster did an excellent job in London 2012 of explaining the rules of the different events and the classifications of the athletes.

The classifications system is sometimes not too easy for the casual viewer to understand and, indeed, it has even been claimed by certain athletes that it can be manipulated by others to boost their medal chances.

IPC head Mr Craven defended the system and said it was "permanently being reviewed".

Meanwhile, British Paralympic Association boss Tim Hollingsworth said: "We are here to win medals, but within both the letter and the spirit of the Paralympics."

Clearly then, the build-up to these Games has not been straightforward in the least - and there are also much wider arguments still to be had over the treatment of disabled people in society generally.

For now, though, it is time to enjoy a bit of sport - so sit back and prepare to be amazed once again by the events in Rio.

It is time for the curtain to be raised. It is time for the Paralympic Games.
 

TEAM GB 

Paralympics team

Archery	Michael Hall, John Stubbs, Nathan McQueen, Jodie Grinham, David Phillips, Tania Nadarajah, John Walker, John Cavanagh, Jo Frith, Vicky Jenkins, Jessica Stretton
Athletics	Men - track Graeme Ballard, Paul Blake, Dan Bramall, Mickey Bushell, Richard Chiassaro, Toby Gold, David Henson, Jordan Howe, Moatez Jomni, Rhys Jones, Simon Lawson, Stephen Morris, Stephen Osborne, Jonnie Peacock, Derek Rae, Ben Rowlings, Andrew Small, Isaac Towers, David Weir, Richard Whitehead Women - track Kare Adenegan, Olivia Breen, Libby Clegg [guide: Chris Clarke], Hannah Cockroft, Kadeena Cox, Sophie Hahn, Georgina Hermitage, Jade Jones, Sophie Kamlish, Samantha Kinghorn, Maria Lyle, Polly Maton, Mel Nicholls, Julie Rogers, Laura Sugar, Carly Tait Men - field Jonathan Broom-Edwards, Aled Davies, Kyron Duke, Dan Greaves, Stephen Miller, Sam Ruddock, Kieran Tscherniawsky Women - field Hollie Arnold, Olivia Breen, Joanna Butterfield, Vanessa Daobry, Sabrina Fortune, Kylie Grimes, Abbie Hunnisett, Beverley Jones, Polly Maton, Holly Neill, Gemma Prescott, Stefanie Reid
Boccia [Competition partner]	David Smith [Sarah Nolan], Nigel Murray, Joshua Rowe, Claire Taggart, Jamie McCowan [Linda McCowan], Scott McCowan [Gary McCowan], Patrick Wilson [Kim Smith], Evie Edwards, Stephen McGuire, Kieran Steer
Cycling - Road [Pilot]	Stephen Bate [Adam Duggleby], Neil Fachie [Peter Mitchell], James Ball [Craig MacLean], Sophie Thornhill [Helen Scott], Lora Turnham [Corrine Hall], Kadeena Cox, Crystal Lane, Karen Darke, Hannah Dines, David Stone, Megan Giglia, Sarah Storey
Cycling - Track [Pilot]	Stephen Bate [Adam Duggleby], Neil Fachie [Peter Mitchell], James Ball [Craig MacLean], Sophie Thornhill [Helen Scott], Lora Turnham [Corrine Hall], Jon-Allan Butterworth, Louis Rolfe, Jody Cundy, Kadeena Cox, Crystal Lane, Megan Giglia, Sarah Storey
Equestrian [Horse]	Natasha Baker [Cabral], Anne Dunham [Lucas Normark], Sophie Christiansen [Athene Lindebjerg], Lee Pearson [Zion], Sophie Wells [Valerius]
Football Seven-a-side	POOL B Brazil, Ukraine, Ireland Michael Barker, James Blackwell, Matt Crossen, Martin Hickman, Sean Highdale, Liam Irons, Ryan Kay, David Leavy, Giles Moore, Ollie Nugent, Jonathan Paterson, David Porcher, Emyle Rudder, Jack Rutter
Judo	Jonathan Drane, Sam Ingram, Chris Skelley, Jack Hodgson, Natalie Greenhough
Paracanoeing	Ian Marsden, Nick Beighton, Robert Oliver, Jeanette Chippington, Emma Wiggs, Anne Dickins
Paratriathlon [Guide]	Phil Hogg, Joe Townsend, Andy Lewis, Ryan Taylor, David Hill, George Peasgood, Claire Cunningham, Faye McClelland, Lauren Steadman, Alison Patrick [Hazel Smith], Melissa Reid [Nicole Walters]
Powerlifting	Zoe Newson, Natalie Blake, Ali Jawad, Micky Yule
Rowing	Tom Aggar, Rachel Morris, Laurence Whiteley-Lauren Rowles, Grace Clough-Daniel Brown-Pam Relph-James Fox-Oliver James (cox)
Sailing	Helena Lucas, Niki Birrell-Alex Rickham, John Robertson-Stephen Thomas-Hannah Stodel
Shooting	Stewart Nangle, Owen Burke, Issy Bailey, Matt Skelhon, James Bevis, Ryan Cockbill, Richard Davies, Tim Jeffery, Karen Butler, Ben Jesson, Lorraine Lambert
Swimming	Men Jonathan Booth, Stephen Clegg, Josef Craig, James Crisp, Ryan Crouch, Jonathan Fox, Thomas Hamer, Ollie Hynd, Michael Jones, Sascha Kindred, Aaron Moores, Andrew Mullen, Scott Quin, Lewis White, Matthew Wylie Women Jessica-Jane Applegate, Claire Cashmore, Bethany Firth, Charlotte Henshaw, Abby Kane, Harriet Lee, Amy Marren, Stephanie Millward, Rebecca Redfern, Ellie Robinson, Susie Rodgers, Hannah Russell, Ellie Simmonds, Stephanie Slater, Alice Tai
Table tennis	Paul Davies, Rob Davies, Jack Hunter-Spivey, Paul Karabardak, David Wetherill, Will Bayley, Aaron McKibbin, Ross Wilson, Ashley Facey-Thompson, Kim Daybell; Jane Campbell, Sara Head, Susan Gilroy
Wheelchair basketball	Men - GROUP Brazil, Iran, United States, Algeria, Germany Harry Brown, Simon Brown, Terry Bywater, Gaz Choudhry, Abdi Jama, Lee Manning, Kyle Marsh, Simon Munn, Ade Orogbemi, Phil Pratt, Ian Sagar, Greg Warburton Women - GROUP Brazil, Germany, Canada, Argentina Jordanna Bartlett, Sophie Carrigill, Amy Conroy, Leah Evans, Helen Freeman, Clare Griffiths, Joy Haizelden, Judith Hamer, Robyn Love, Charlotte Moore, Katie Morrow, Laurie Williams
Wheelchair fencing	Piers Gilliver, Dimitri Coutya, Gemma Collis
Wheelchair rugby	POOL B Canada, Australia, Brazil Alan Ash, Coral Batey, Ayaz Bhuta, Jonathan Coggan, Ryan Cowling, Bulbul Hussain, Mike Kerr, Jim Roberts, Chris Ryan, Mandip Sehmi, Jamie Stead, Gavin Walker
Wheelchair tennis	Alex Hewitt, Marc McCarroll, David Phillipson, Gordon Reid; Louise Hunt, Lucy Shuker, Jordanne Whiley; Jamie Burdekin, Antony Cotterill, Andy Lapthorne; Alfie Hewitt-Gordon Reid, Marc McCarroll-David Phillipson; Lucy Shuker-Jordanne Whiley; Jamie Burdekin-Andy Lapthorne