Almost
always, we don’t read or heard news about paralympian sportsmen or sportswomen.
We only know about the things that the professional Olympian sportsmen/women
do, but in my opinion, are the paralympian people who work harder and really
love what they do, and they don’t think only in the money that they can win,
because there are a lot of effort behind the prizes and medals they win. It’s
too difficult for paralytics people to do things that we do normally. But it doesn't means impossible.
Examples of
this effort in paralytics athletes are:
Oscar
Pistorius was born in South Africa on November 22, 1986. HE LOST THEIR LEGS
WHEN HE WAS ELEVEN MONTHS OLD! But he tried to have a normal life.
He loved
doing sports, especially athleticism, but all the people thought that he couldn’t
do any sport due to the absence of their legs, but he always said them this:
"I'm
not an invalid, just I haven’t got legs. Also, everyone has a disability ...
the worse is the lack of spirit".
So, after a
hard work, he could do water polo, swimming and the sport where he won more
prizes: athleticism.
Oscar
became so good in this sport; in fact, they ran in the Olympics games of London
(not paralympics games) with athletes with two legs, but he managed to finish
at second position in one race!
Also, he
has run against a horse in a race, and yes, he has won too!
You can see
the video here
And now a Spanish
person: Teresa Perales.
She was born in Zaragoza on 29 December 1975. In 1995, at the age of
nineteen, she was diagnosed with neuropathy and lost the use of her legs in only three
months!
But she never gives up to
her dream: be a professional swimmer. So, she worked hard during five years
because she wanted to be at the Paralympics Games in Sydney, where she started to
win a lot of medals.
Now she is the Spanish Paralympic person with more medals, she has the same record that Michael Phelps, but she will
continue swimming more time.
With examples like these, I want you to think about this, because not only the people without a physical or mental disabilities are able to do more things that the people who have those disabilities, only is needed hard work and spirit!
And the questions are...
1-¿Have you ever seen the Paralympic Games?
2-¿What story you liked more,the one of Oscar Pistorius or the other of Teresa Perales? ¿Why?
3-¿What do you think that you are going to do if you have a physical or mental disability?
4-¿Who won the race, the horse or Oscar Pistorius?
5-¿Where were the first Paralympic Games of Teresa Perales?