Tokyo 2020 Paralympic flame lighting ceremony in Tokyo (REUTERS)
By Lydia O’Kane
Aug 28 2021
As the Paralympic Games gets underway in Tokyo, the undersecretary at the Pontifical Council for Culture with responsibility for sport, Monsignor Melchor Sanchez de Toca, says the Games are a sign of “great hope” because they are “necessary to inspire many people with disabilities”.
Just like the Olympic Games, the 2020 Paralympics kicks off in Toyko on Tuesday under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020 Paralympics amid pandemic
The organizers of the event have said the Games will be held under “very difficult” circumstances as cases have risen sharply since the end of the Olympics on August 8.
In order to control the spread of the virus, organisers have said they plan to implement the same COVID-19 protocols as the ones used during the Olympics.
The Paralympics which get underway Tuesday and end September 5, will generally take place without spectators, and athletes are being asked to limit their movements.
According to International Paralympic Committee spokesperson Craig Spence, around 88% of athletes and officials attending the Games have been vaccinated.
The events
These Games will see athletes competing in 540 events over 22 sports. The 2020 Summer Paralympics will also see the introduction of badminton and taekwondo, replacing sailing and 7-a-side football.
Overcoming limitations
“We see in Paralympic sport…how athletes give the very best of themselves, overcoming limitations” whether it be from birth or caused from accidents or illnesses, said Mons Melchor Sanchez de Toca, Undersecretary at the Pontifical Council for Culture with responsibility for sport.
“It’s not by chance that in Rio the global audience of the Paralympic Games was higher than the Olympic Games,” he noted.
Asked if Paralympians can inspire others with disabilities to reach their potential and goals, Mons Sanchez de Toca said, “Sport is still one of the greatest sources of inspiration for many people and that is especially true of the Paralympic sport. I personally know Paralympian athletes who decided to try to do sport by watching other Paralympic athletes’ performances on TV.”
