Mobility Friends Together

The Paralympic Games ended yesterday, the 18th of September, and a very powerful closing ceremony marked the ending of an event that was very important. The ceremony symbolized both the accomplishments of the athletes, but also hopes for the future. Athletes from China brought home the most medals. Great Britain was second place in the medal counts, with the United States close at their heels.

China won over 200 medals this year. Their athletes received 89 Gold Medals, 70 Silver Medals, and 52 Bronze Medals. Great Britain brought home 102 Medals this year, among them 42 Gold Medals.

The United States was a very close third and received 99 Medals. The U.S. Team brought 42 Gold Medals, 35 Silver Medals, and 28 Bronze Medals back with them. The United States Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby Team, and Goalball team made an impressive stand and won the Gold. The U.S. Team was also very successful in the swimming events, athletic events, and cycling.

Athletes from around 70 different countries participated in this years games and they all deserve our respect. The medals are nice and represent a very big accomplishment, but the Paralympics are about much more than just winning the Gold. All of the athletes who participated in the games showed a strong sense of character and perseverance.

The Paralympics are in full swing and athletes from around the world have joined together to compete with one-another. There are still five days left in the tournament and many different countries have been collecting Gold Medals. Among them the top three are China, Great Britain, and the United States.

So far China has a big lead in the medal counts. They have a total of 109 medals including 37 gold ones. Great Britain is close behind in the gold count, with 33 gold medals and 69 total. The United States has 69 total medals including 23 gold medals and 16 silver ones.

China has been quite successful in most of the events, but they have earned most of their medals in the Athletics discipline, which includes discus throw, javelin throw, long jump, and other field and track events. They have also been quite successful in the table tennis events, where the men have taken 2 gold medals and the women 4.

From the United States, Cycling has been a very successful event, with Barbara Buchan, Karissa Whitsell, and Mackenzie, Woodring all taking gold medals in women cycling events.

The United States has also been very successful in the swimming events with Jessica Long taking 6 medals, including 4 gold ones. Jessica Long is 16 years old and was originally born in Russia, but was adopted by a family in Maryland when she was around 1 year old. Her lower legs were amputated when she was eighteen months old, but she rarely let this slow her down.

Always athletic, she began swimming and entered into her first competition in 2002. She competed in the 2004 Paralympics, when she was only twelve, and won 3 gold medals.

We salute all the members of the United States Team and all the other great athletes that are giving it their all and showing the world how strong they are.

There are many great sports that are part of the 2008 Paralympics. Among them is a sport that dates back over 50 years called Goalball. Goalball is a sport that originated in Europe and is played by athletes with limited or no vision.

Hanz Lorenzen, an Austrian, and Sepp Reindle, a German, developed the game in 1946 as way to help the rehabilitation of war veterans. An exhibition match was played at the 1976 Paralympics and it became a official Paralympic sport at the next games, which were held in Arnhem.

Two teams of three players each compete and try to throw a ball through their opponents goal. The court is eighteen meters long and nine meters wide. Goals span the entire 9 meters and are located at either end of the court. The teams lay down in the goal box and attempt to block the throws of the other team. The ball contains a bell or other noise maker and has eight holes in it.

Eyeshades are worn by all players and they wear eye patches under the shades. If the ball is thrown out of bounds or bounces off of a defending player, the goalposts, or crosses back over the other side, possession of the ball is lost. A 10 second shot clock is used and a player can not throw the ball more than two times without receiving a penalty. Players are also not allowed to touch their eyeshades, make excessive noise, coach from the sidelines, or defend the ball while out of the team area.

For more information, including detailed rules, visit http://www.goalballnetwork.com/

The Paralympics are set to begin next week and many athletes from all over the World are heading to Beijing for the games. Among them is a tennis star named Gordon Reid, who is 16 years old.

Reid has been playing tennis since he was 6 years old. He continued to be very active in sports, including football, until just prior to his 13th birthday he was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis, which is a neurological condition that affects the spinal cord.

After his diagnosis and subsequent paralysis, Reid did not give up. The tennis club he belongs to started a fundraiser to buy him a wheelchair that was configured for wheelchair tennis. The club, Helensburgh Tennis Club, was able to raise these funds in only a short time and used them to buy a wheelchair for another athlete as well.

Only six months after being diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis, Reid won his first wheelchair tennis tournament and since he has rose through the ranks. Last year Reid one the National Men’s Singles champion and at 15 became the youngest athlete to claim this honor. That same year Reid also won the International Wheelchair Tennis Junior Masters.

Currently Reid is ranked at 36th in the world’s single ranking and is set to be the youngest member to ever represent Great Britain in the Paralympics.