Mobility Friends Together

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 28^th National Veterans Wheelchair Games are set to begin this weekend in Omaha, Nebraska. This is the largest annual wheelchair sporting event in the world and more than 500 athletes have entered.

It is taking place at the University of Nebraska in Omaha and helps to improve the quality of life for disabled veterans. It can greatly improve the confidence and health of those who enter and often around a quarter of the attendees have never participated in any type of wheelchair sport competition before.

Lasted 4 days from July 25^th to July 29^th, this event is presented by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

Sports are an excellent type of therapy for those who are mobility challenged and can be used to help with many types of disability. There are over 15 different sporting events taking place at the Wheelchair Games. This includes swimming, table tennis, weightlifting, basketball, bowling, and even a motorized wheelchair rally.

To find out more visit the Department of Veterans Affairs website.