A sporting special chance

CAPTAIN’S CORNER BY CAPTAIN MAHMOOD AL MAHMOOD

This week will see the start of yet another glorious sporting event – the Paralympics which run from August 28 to September 8.

Bahrain’s two-member contingent will be representing the Kingdom: discus throw champion Ruba Youssef Al Amri and 400 metres race debutant, Hussain Mohammed.

They will be part of over 4,000 para athletes from around the world competing for more than 500 medals in 22 sports, which will include individual and team events.

Since it started participating in the Paralympics in 1984, Bahraini athletes have racked up a total of ten Paralympic medals, all of them in athletics: two gold, three silver and five bronze.

This is also a year of significant recognition for the National Paralympic Committee whose Noor Husain was selected by the International body for an award – the top accolade for Emerging Leadership within the movement.

Few people know that there are two very different Olympics – the Paralympics which is mainly for athletes and sportspeople with physical challenges ( although sportspeople with intellectual challenges too participate under certain circumstances ) and the Special Olympics, designed for children and adults with intellectual disabilities of all skill levels for training and competition in 32 Olympic - type sports.

Just imagine the focus and the determination that these sportspersons have to reach this level of excellence. You and I whine when we sprain a wrist or stub a toe.

Here are true sports champs who bend their body and minds to overcome the challenges thrown at them by life. Not only do they win medals for themselves but they also inspire us.

Like Bahrain shone in the Paris Olympics earlier this month, I wish the Para athletes all the best for their spot in the sun!