ParalympicPost

Positive changeAn interview withIOC President Thomas Bach

Thursday, March 13, 2014

IN COOPERATION WITH

Moving forwardTesting the accessibilityof Sochi

How does it feel to be at the Games asa journalist? Take a look at the Para-lympic diary of our young reporters:tagesspiegel.de/paralympics

Contents

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www

First steps to accessibility 10Sochi claims to be the

very first barrier-free cityin Russia. We did the test

Breaking the ice 05The Opening Ceremony

for the Paralympic Gameswas outstanding 06 Advantage or not?

Paralympic athletes wantto compete withable-bodied sportsmen

11 “Positive change“IOC President ThomasBach talks about theParalympic Games

04 Fiercely competitivePara-snowboarder NicoleRoundy takes off in theParalympics’ new event

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Go for Gold 13Anna Schaffelhuber is theyoungest gold medallist in

the German team 15 Uncertain legacyCan Sochi become Russia’sfirst-ever internationalwinter sports centre?

The countdown begins 16The 2016 games will take

place in Brazil’s scenicRio de Janeiro

Dear readers,the Paralym-

pic Post is a fan-tastic projectwhich I have sup-ported for years.The young repor-ters from diffe-rent countriesworking toget-

her as a team and producing an entertainingnewspaper is a fantastic example of how dif-ferent nationalities are united throughsports and interests. Their different pointsof views, cultures and attitudes make the pa-per all the more exciting to read.

This is the spirit of the Paralympic move-ment and the atmosphere we are hoping forat the games. The international games are agreat opportunity for athletes, spectators, of-ficials and politicians from all over the worldto meet on an even footing. They are unitedby a common idea: a peaceful and great ga-mes. The Paralympic values of inspiration,equality, courage and determination shouldbe directive for us all.

I very much hope the games continue tobe a great success and inspire a lot of youngpeople around the world.

Your WILLI LEMKE

Special Adviser to the United Nations

Secretary-General on Sport for Development

and Peace

Dear readers,the idea to

further an inclu-sive society wasthe primary mo-tive behind theParalympic Postwhen we startedthe project 10 ye-ars ago. Since

2004, the newspaper has been reportingabout the performances, the triumphs anddefeats of Paralympic athletes, their hopesand dreams. It contributes to giving peoplewith disabilities a much deserved place inthe spotlight. And it is an instrument ofpeaceful international exchange and coope-ration, bringing young reporters from Ger-many and the respective host countries to-gether.

In the past few weeks, however, manyhave asked themselves: can one celebratethe Paralympic Games in these times of poli-tical tensions? We, at German Social Acci-dent Insurance, have pondered this ques-tion, too. Ultimately, we have decided to conti-nue with our project Paralympics Zeitung /Paralympic Post despite a difficult politicalbackground.

Why? We believe that the Paralympics pro-mote an idea that is of both universal appealand value: that we need to appreciate the di-versity of humankind, that this diversity isour greatest treasure, and that no oneshould be excluded from participating in thelife of the community on the grounds of whothey are.

We are convinced that the Paralympic Ga-mes are not just a showcase of tremendousathletic performances but an instrument ofchange – a change we hope to support withour Paralympic Post.

Your DR. JOACHIM BREUER

General Director of the German Social

Accident Insurance (DGUV)

PublishersDeutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung(DGUV), Verlag Der Tagesspiegel,panta rhei GmbHEditorsClara KaminskyCarsten KlothAnnette KögelJulia IlinykhNik AfanasjewKarin PreugschatMoritz Döbler (V.i.S.d.P.)Special EditorsBradley NeenGeorge SimondsArt DirectorSabine WilmsCatrin OldenburgLayoutFritz SchanningerProductionMarco SchiffnerPhotographerThilo Rückeis

Titel: Russian team players celebratetheir victory over USA after their groupstage ice sledge hockey match. Photo: dpa

10 years and still as exciting as ever. The jubilee edition ofthe international newspaper project is once again writtenby an enthusiastic international group of young reporters.The Paralympic Post Sochi 2014 talents are Amrei Zieri-acks, Anastasija Arinushkina, Anastasija Rusavskaja,Anna Lisina, Anton Latynin, Bradley Neen, Christina Spitz-müller, David Kramer, George Simonds, Jonas Wengert,Julia Hollnagel, Katharina Schiller, Nicolas Feißt, TatjanaPopadyova und Vladislav Radjuk. The team of British, Rus-sian and German students are not only filling the Paralym-pic Post with exciting and well-informed articles. They arealso working on the two issues of the German languageParalympics Zeitung and the Russian edition, the Paralim-pijskij Reporter.

The Paralympic Post has been co-published by the Ger-man Social Accident Insurance (Deutsche Gesetzliche Un-fallversicherung, DGUV), the publishing house Der Tages-spiegel and the agency panta rhei since the ParalympicGames in Athens 2004. After two preparatory workshopsin Berlin and Moscow our team arrived in Sochi in time forthe Opening Ceremony. Since then, they have been busy24/7: interviewing athletes and officials in English, Ger-man and Russian, writing articles, translating for their col-leagues, catching up on sleep on the busses to and fromthe venues, researching behind the scenes in the prosthe-tics workshops, in the Paralympic village and visitingpress conferences. Clara Kaminsky

Salut!Imprint

Hello!

3_Paralympics_Tagesspiegel_13. March 2014

The Paralympic Post

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Para-snowboarding is “fiercelycompetitiveracing.”That’showNi-cole Roundy, who will representthe United States in the Paralym-

pics’ newest event, describes the sport.Roundy, who had her right leg amputateddue to bone cancer aged eight, steppedonto the ski slope for the first time in 2004.Tenyearslatersheproudlytakesherplacein the team of 80 US athletes at the tenthWinter Paralympic Games. Snowboardingis the latest inclusion in the Winter Para-lympics. The competition has two medalevents, men’s and women’s, included inthe alpine skiing category. Roundy ran theParalympic Post through the main femalecompetitors. “Bibian Mentel-Spee fromthe Netherlands is the favorite for gold.She’s dynamite!”

In the men’s category, favourite to win isUSA’s Evan Strong, who is an X-Gamesgold medallist. He will face competitionfrom the likes of New Zealand’s CarlMurphy and Tyler Mosher of Canada. Thesnowboarding events take place on thepenultimate day of the games. This meanscompetitors will spend more than a weekin Sochi before their competitions start. Itis not foolish to wonder whether the addedwait will help or hinder the athletes. “I'mpersonally enjoying pacing myself andbeing able to enjoy the games while I focuson preparation,” said Roundy.

Roundy also juggles her training sche-dule around a full time job. After gaining adegree in business management in 2012,shenowworks inonline marketing.Fortu-nately, there is rarely a clash of inte-rests.“Occasionally, I have to sacrificesome training for my job and vice versa.I've been incredibly fortunate to work for acompany that supports and understandsthe passion for what I do.” The sport wassaddened last month by the death of Aus-tralian snowboarder Matthew Robinson.He passed away whilst competing in theIPC World Cup Finals in La Molina, Spain,aftersufferingneckand spinal injuries.Al-

thoughnot duetocompete inSochi (hehadan upper limb impairment), Robinson wasregarded as one of the most talented andpopular athletes in his sport.

As for the future, the aim is to ensurepara-snowboarding receives more reco-gnition in the media and with specta-tors, which may enable it to developinto a more expansive discipline inSouth Korea in four years time. At the

moment, Paralympic snowboarding isonly open to athletes with lower limbimpairments. “It is my hope, to developa stronger, smarter, and more talentedgroup of athletes worldwide,” saysRoundy. “I think that the competitionwill keep getting tighter, the courseslonger and more progressive.” For now,we can prepare for this new competitionwith open minds.

MatthiasLanzingerwascountedasafu-ture Olympic athlete for Austria, ayoung talent that had already won

great races in alpine skiing. He won the Eu-ropa Cup, was Austrian champion twice andeven junior World Champion. Then he had adramatic accident at a Super G competition inKvjitfell, Norway in 2008. His left leg had to beamputated. After a long and painful recovery,he started competing again in disabled win-ter sports in the season 2011/12. In an inter-view withTagesspiegel,he pointed out that hedidnotstartcompetingagainforfame,butforhimself. Still, his aims are competitive andclear: "I came to Sochi to win medals. After agood start this season, my hopes are justi-fied." The international attention Lanzingerreceives is immense,he istheAustrianalpinestar, the news about his accident was spreadaroundtheworldandnoweveryoneis interes-ted in this special comeback. Despite all thepotential distractions, he stays focussed forthe games, which are "a special highlight forus Paralympians". In his first competition,downhill,henarrowlymissed themedals, co-ming fourth. Concerning the difficult conditi-ons of the route, the athlete stated he would"send prayers to heaven before the start andre-check the screws." After his fourth placefinish, he wrote on Facebook that this is theplace you don’t want at the Paralympics. Oneday later, he achieved his aim and won a silvermedal in Super G, the same discipline inwhich he had his accident six years before.Only his compatriot Markus Salcher couldbeat him on this very difficult slope. Lanzin-ger did not get discouraged or scared by theaccidents to earn his first silver medal. Amrei Zieriacks

At every games there is a single sportthat really captures the public’s imagi-nation. In Beijing the nations’ hearts

were won unsurprisingly by table tenniswhilst in London it was wheelchair rugby’sturn. And despite an early setback, Russia’ssledge hockey team is set to thrust the sportinto the national psyche; at least if VladimirPutin can have anything to do with it!

The president’s presence at many of Rus-sia’s ice hockey games at the recent OlympicGames was well publicised. And so his atten-dance, alongside IOC President ThomasBach, for Russia’s first sledge hockey gamecame as little surprise. And I for one can’tblame them.

As a spectacle it is fast flowing, dynamicand engrossing whilst the athletes show-case a simply astounding array of skills;quick and powerful one plays – subtle andcalm the next. And all of that inside a fastpaced, easy to watch but highly technicalsport. Putin managed to pick the game ofthe first round; Russia’s first game againstKorea, which as famous British broadcasterAlan Green would say, “showed all the signsof a great cup tie.“

The hotly tipped Russian side startedslowly before taking a commanding two goallead heading into the second period interval.Only for Korean defender Min-Su Han toscore a game changing goal with just 36 se-conds remaining in the period. After thebreak the Koreans had far more possessionwhich delighted and worried (in equal mea-sure) the increasingly anxious partisan Rus-sian crowd. A great Korean team goal twominutes into the final third set up a tenselast 10 minutes. At the end of normal timethe score stood level at 2-2 which of coursemeant extra time and after an even moretense five minutes of scoreless overtime thegame went to ‘Game winning shots’. Which,after 4 rounds, went the Koreans way afterMin-Su Han held his nerve and scored thewinning goal. Vasilli Varlakov, the Russian de-

fender was surprisingly pensive after thegame: “Of course we didn’t play like wecould have done, which is a great shameespecially in front of our expecting fans andrelatives.“ This may have been due to the in-creased pressures associated with a homegame; earlier in the day American hockeyplayer Steve Cash had commented that hisside had “certainly“ suffered from “a fewpre-Paralympics nerves.“ And the Russiancoach Sergey Samoylov certainly alluded toit in his post-match press conference . Al-though whilst these Paralympic pressureswon’t disappear looking towards the rest ofthe competition there are certainly somestrong positives for the Russian team to takefrom the game. In particular they createdsome fantastic opportunities; “We just didn’ttake them as well as the Koreans did“ com-mented Varlakov. “It’s certainly ‘in ourhands,“ he added. Regardless of the futuresuccesses of the Russian team, if the rest ofthe competition is anywhere close to beingas exciting as the games so far I for onewould not be surprised to see Mr Putin atthe Shayba Arena again. Or the whole of Rus-sia for that matter. George Simonds

Nicole Roundy of theUnited States of

America competes in aSnowboard Cross Adaptive

Standing Women.

The Russian sledge hockey teamplayed Korea in the first match

Austrian skier Matthias Lanzinger.

No stopping us

Paralympics_Tagesspiegel_13. March 2014_4

New national heroes

Freshstart

“The competition will keep getting tighter and the courses longer.“USA’s Nicole Roundy gives the low-down on the Paralympics’ newest sport

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The Russian sledgehockey team had tomake up for the reversalat the Olympics

BRADLEY NEEN

The 2014 Winter Paralympic Gameswere officially declared open on Fri-day night with a spectacular cere-mony inside the Fisht Stadium, So-

chi. The ceremony, which signified the startof the tenth Winter Games, took place infront of 40,000 spectators in the OlympicPark. The two hour ceremony encompassedsport, music and the arts, with alpine skiierValerii Redkozubov carrying the Russian flagin the athletes precession.

“The Winter Paralympics in Sochi will de-monstrate the power of sport to unite andinspire the world,” said President of the So-chi 2014 Paralympic Organising Committee,Dmitry Chernyshenko. “Welcome to a ga-mes which will be a real collection of sport,and inspire millions of people to reach newheights.”

The ceremony, named “Breaking the Ice,”honoured the strength of the human spiritand explained how important it is to changeperceptions and promote inclusion in so-ciety.

The 575 athletes from 45 nations paradedaround the stadium before they left to fina-lise preparations for their competitions inthe slopes at Krasnaya Polyana and at theOlympic Park in Adler.

Almost one million LED lights were hungfrom the roof of the impressive Olympic Sta-dium, lighting up in the national colours ofeach country as they entered the ceremony.

A single Ukrainian athlete named Myk-halo Tkachenko carried the national flag intothe stadium, as the rest of the team chosenot to attend the ceremony. IPC PresidentSir Philip Craven alluded to the political cri-sis in Crimea, if not by name then by mea-ning, saying: “Welcome to the games, a ga-mes where sport must be the winner.”

Craven gave an inspirational speech at theceremony. “Tonight is a very special occa-sion, tonight is proof that what might notseem possible, is possible.”

The crescendo of the ceremony was thecarrying of the Paralympic flame, which hadmade its way across Russia, travellingthrough 46 different cities.

The torch was passed through the sta-dium before two of Russia’s most famous Pa-ralympians, 6 times gold medallist biathlonathlete Sergey Shilov and summer Paralym-pic swimmer Olesya Vladykina, lit the torchto signify the opening of the games.

The opening ceremony included thou-sands of dancers and performers, who after-wards shared their thoughts with the Para-lympic Post. “It’s just amazing, to hear allthe shouts of support... But it is still a bigresponsibility,” explained Michail, who alsoperformed at the Olympic Games opening ce-remony. “When I participated at the Olympicceremony I didn’t have much time to feel theatmosphere properly. But this time we stoodthere and watched the sportsmen as theywere passing by. It was awesome, inexpressi-ble.”

Sir Philip summed up these games per-fectly: “The sport you witness here willchange you. Not just for now, but forever.”

In the space of half an hour, the word“peace” was said 47 times during thepress conference before the Paralympic

Games Opening Ceremony. Valerii Sushkev-ych, the president of Ukraine’s ParalympicCommittee, used this word to explain thereason why the Ukrainian National Paralym-pic team will take part in the competition.

The largest Ukrainian team in the historyof Winter Paralymics has come to Sochi.Over the last four years, since the Paralym-pics in Vancouver, a huge ski lodge with a bi-athlon complex was built in the Carpathiansfor Ukrainian Paralympic athletes. ValeriiSushkevych noted that for a country not par-

ticularly associated with snow sports,Ukraine shows a great level of preparation,considering the difficult economic and politi-cal situation in the country.

“Our team consists of 31 Paralympicsportsmen, who are ready to start.. (their)..winter Paralympic sports. And they do wantto do it,” said Sushkevych. “But any team,which participates in the Paralympic Games,is team of its country. The Ukrainian teamcan not be indifferent to the situation aroundthe Crimean Peninsula”.

According to the president of the NationalParalympic Committee of Ukraine, there isnow not political but military tension in theCrimea. That’s why the Ukrainian team cameto Sochi, with the desire to promote fair com-petition and peace for its country, for Europeand for the whole world.

Sushkevych said that despite his 15-yearswork in Verchovna Rada of Ukraine, he strug-

gled not to give a political significance to thepress conference. “On Tuesday night I metwith Vladimir Putin. Our conversation was ci-vil and respectful. I understood that I spoketo the president as a messenger of the Para-lympic team and should ask only for peaceduring the Paralympic Games.” The Ukrai-nian team made a peaceful, non-political de-monstration of the Ukrainian situation whenonly the flag-bearer of the Ukrainian team,Mkhaylo Tkachenko, took part in the athle-tes’ parade at the ceremony.

It was mentioned that Putin has not madeany promises to the Ukrainian national Para-lympic team, but Russia’s president took itsproposals into consideration. As Ukrainianskier and biathlete Gregory Vovchinsky said,if the national Paralympic team boycottedthe games in Sochi, they would be forgottenin a few hours. But if they stay, they can showtheir feelings and call for peace in theUkraine. Nevertheless, Sushkevych added:“I am afraid that despite my desire for peacesomething irreparable will happen duringthe Paralympics. I declare that in this casewe would leave Sochi.“ Tatjana Popadyova

Performers in large transluscentspheres, young ballerinas (rightpicture), firebirds (below) and a

huge icebreaker ship (bottom) werepart of the Opening Ceremony.

Breaking the ice

One man, one flag:protest at the opening.

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“In this casewe would leave“

One million lightsilluminated a ceremonythat was a spectacularopening for the first everRussian ParalympicGames

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Ukraine’s decision not toboycott the Paralympicswas made shortly beforethe Opening Ceremony

BRADLEY NEEN

Alan Oliveira will always be the man whobeat Oscar Pistorius. He is the world recordholder in 100 metres and Paralympic cham-pion in 200 metres track and field. Pistoriushad never lost in 200 metres or 400 metres,and in the semi-final of the Paralympic Ga-mes in London he ran a new world record.There was no doubt he would win that goldmedal in the final. After half of the race Pisto-rius was in the front, leading by nearly tenmetres. But then Oliveira came, so fast thatit appeared as he could fly. There was nonew world record, but he had beaten Pisto-rius, like nobody had done in the past years.

Brazil was happy: There was a young, char-ming runner. The people in the host countryof the 2016 summer Paralympics had a newidol. Soon enough, Oliveira became the faceof the games, people recognise him, he is

their hope to win gold medals. On the onehand, this is good because the Paralympicswill become more famous and the Braziliansare familiarised with disability sports longbefore the games. They can learn how todeal with people who have disabilities andcan give the sports a platform.

On the other hand, people criticise Oli-veira for having prosthetics that are longerthan a real leg. But according to the rules ofthe IPC everything is all right, even if it’s notfair for the others who have prosthetics inthe right proportions. The IPC perhapsneeds to reconsider this as people like Oli-veira can never compete against able-bo-died athletes. But when they change the ru-les, Oliveira will be slower – and the Paralym-pics 2016 in Rio may lose their poster boy. Nico Feißt

Markus Rehm is focused, the Ger-man knows how important thisjump might be for him. Then hestarts running, and jumps. It is

7,50 metres. Rehm is the winner. Although itis only a regional championship, he is never-theless elated. He is the world record holderin long jump since he won the gold medal atthe Paralympics 2012 in London by a big mar-gin. Not one of the other athletes was able tojump longer, Rehm was too good.

Today the feeling of winning the West Ger-man Championship is special: All of his oppo-nents were not disabled and Rehm beatthem with his prosthetics. It was the firsttime a German Paralympic athlete had quali-fied for the National Championships inable-bodied athletics. But in the evening, afew hours after the competition, the jury deci-ded to strip him of his title. They said the lo-wer-limp amputee has an advantage over hisnon-disabled opponents. The next day, thejury revoked the decision. “This decreasesthe enjoyment”, said the 25-year-old.

The indecision of the jury has demonstra-ted that they don’t know how to manage acase like this. But it seems certain that moreathletes with disabilities will qualify forable-bodied championships. Not only be-cause of better technique, but also becauseof the more professional training conditions.Rehm has no opponents in disability sportsanymore who are able to jump as far as hedoes. This is why he wants to competeagainst non-disabled athletes. “I offered tocompete without being in the results list.“ Hewants to compete to get better and for hisown athletic ambition. Rehm has prepared togo ahead and act controversially in order tomove things along, even though the discus-sion isn’t new.

Oscar Pistorius was the first prominent Pa-ralympian who became good enough to com-pete against non-disabled and even beatthem. That was in 2008, when Pistorius com-peted in the Olympic Games in Beijing. In2012 he started in London as well and madeit to the semi-final. During the months beforethe games he went from court to court,fighting for his rights. A study showed that hehas no advantage against the non-disabled

and he was allowed to start. Some peoplewere satisfied with the decision, others critici-sed him because he took part in both the Pa-ralympic and Olympic games in London.

Beside Pistorius there were others partici-pating in the two games: South African swim-mer Natalie Du Toit and Polish table tennisplayer Natalia Partyka. Du Toit won the silvermedal at the Olympics. She doesn’t need aleg-prosthetic when she is swimming, so noone could accuse her of having an advantage.And Partyka has one hand, but she only had a

small disadvantage playing like this. She de-buted in the Paralympics when she was ele-ven. In London, she competed for the firsttime in the Olympics and lost in the round of16. Her target is to win a gold medal in theable-bodied World Games. “I know I have towork harder for it”, she stated in London. No-body criticised them, because in swimmingand table tennis athletes don’t need to wearprosthetics and the main advantages aresmall.

In other disciplines the rules are clearerthan in athletics, for example in wheelchairbasketball. In the German Premier League,players without a disability are allowed toplay in the same team as people with disabili-ties, including them in the highest rate ofclassification. In the international tourna-ments they are not allowed to do so. Whencompeting there, they need a certain gradeof disability.

Regarding the competition of disabled andable-bodied athletes, there is always thequestion: Is it a good idea to put the Olympicand Paralympic Games together? All athle-tes advise against this: Firstly, it is impossi-

ble because of the logistical aspect, se-condly, the Paralympic Games would takeplace alongside the Olympics and thirdly, itwould be ridiculous to give up the Paralym-pics at a time when they are becoming biggerand bigger. Still now the Paralympics are thesecond biggest sports event in the world,there is always a new spectator record everytwo years and TV channels show more andmore disability sport.

And what is Markus Rehm doing now? Heis just carrying on long jumping at the sametime as promoting his sports. Because therewas such a big discussion after he won theWest German Championship, people were in-terested in what he is doing. So he had theopportunity to jump in a hall during a sportsgala. A few weeks ago, the orthopedic techni-tion trained and competed in the United Arab

Emirates for several days to raise public awa-reness for disability sports in countrieswhere they don’t exist at all. Rehm knowsthat he is too good for only being a sportsstar. He has representative exercises and isthe biggest hope for disability sports, to getthe same possibilities as able-bodied athle-tes. Then nobody would wonder when Rehmwill beat the able-bodied athletes.

Partyka aims for gold inable-bodied games

Alan Oliveira won the men’s100 metres event in London.

Paralympic Champion Markus Rehmwins the West German Championshipagainst his able-bodied competitors.

Paralympics_Tagesspiegel_13. March 2014_6

Advantage or not?

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Markus Rehm has nomajor opponents indisability sports anymore.Athletes like him andPistorius want to competewith able-bodied athletes

Commentary

Flying with long prosthetics

NICO FEIßT

The Paralympic movement is growingat an incredible rate. With its mes-sage of equality and performancereaching more people than ever be-

fore. This is shown by the incredible growththat companies such as Otto Bock have expe-rienced. As head of communications Kars-ten Ley said “we started as five men and aparasol, now we have five separate stati-ons!“ And whilst the Paralympic movementattempts to break down barriers for peoplewith disabilities, has this rapid growth actu-ally meant they have built their own barriers– the barrier of wealth? George and Julia in-vestigate.

A defining feature of all Paralympic sportsis the quest for fairness, with the official IPCwebsite stating: “all sports having a systemin place which ensures that winning is deter-mined by skill, fitness, power, endurance,tactical ability and mental focus.“ This sys-tem includes the infamous classification pro-cedure, the grading of results and stringentequipment standards. This means all the ath-letes who are competing in the same classifi-cation are using the same standard of equip-ment.

Everyone wants to see the performance le-vels increasing and to help facilitate this theequipment used by the athletes is becomingincreasingly more advanced. For examplethe mono-skis used at the Rosa Khutor Cen-tre contain the same spring cores that areused in Formula One cars. That obviouslydoes not come cheap, with a standard com-petition mono-ski costing as much as asmall family hatchback.

And with this huge level of technologicaladvance it is easy to see how countries canget left behind. No sooner have they investedin the latest ski with the most advanced For-mula One technology before another evenlighter, more stable model is released. Thismeans only the richest nations such as Ger-many (investing $4.4 million a year into dis-ability sport) and Ukraine (who have strongParalympic traditions) can keep up, leavingthe poorer nations athletes simply unable tocompete. This is clearly shown in the re-spective medals table. Of the 13 countriesyet to win a winter Paralympic medal almostall are poorer LEDC nations. But it’s not onlythe athletes from the poorer nations whoare being left behind. In 2008, three Ameri-cans sued the United States Olympic Com-mittee over a miserly attitude to disabilitysports. Their appeal was rejected by the Su-preme Court but its impact was an interna-tional resonance.

“We realise that equipment is an issue,“said Craig Spence, Media Officer of the Inter-national Paralympic Committee, to The Guar-dian. “Paralympic sport can be quite costprohibitive.“

Over the last decade the IPC has recogni-sed this problem and has taken severalsteps to try reducing the issue. For examplethe IPC covers 80% of the costs incurredfrom attending the games; from transport toaccommodation. Although even with thissignificant financial support Paralym-pic squads from Malawi and Bo-tswana were forced to with-draw a few days before thestart of the London Ga-mes due to funding pro-blems. This assisted fundsapproach was supported by amore practical solution. Six years agothe IPC tasked the British charity Motiva-tion with making lower-cost perfor-mance sports wheelchairs.

And at last year’s games the final productswere released, including a low-cost racingwheelchair (at 1/6 of the usual price) and spe-cialist’s basketball chairs priced at £435. Al-though even these low-cost alternatives arestill prohibitive to young athletes.

Undoubtedly, one of the crueller paradoxesof Paralympic sport is that the countries withthe largest pool of potential athletes are oftenthose who are least able to support them. Forexample Cambodia – a country with one ofthe largest ratios of amputees in the world(due to the high number of landmine blasts)are yet to win a Paralympic medal.

This kind of example“damages the image

of disability sport,“ according to German Pa-ralympic gold medallist Markus Rehm.

The modern Olympic movement only re-ally began to accelerate after the end of theSecond World War (in a fully equal society).That was of course over a century after theabolition of slavery games and 50 years afterthe suffragette movement and the accompa-nying large scale emancipation of women.So perhaps a country should only start thequest for Paralympic medals once there is areal equality in society.

This ideology of “opportunity then perfor-mance“ is exemplified by Rwanda. A com-plete national transformation of the educa-tion system allowed it to field 14 athletes atthe 2012 London Paralympic games.

Similarly Sir Philip Craven pointed out tothe BBC, that Ukraine “has zoomed into viewin both the Summer and Winter Paralympicsport... relatively quickly.“ This change is rat-her due to a paradigm change in the treat-ment of disabled people than a rapid econo-mic development.

This can be politically led, as was the caseof Russia, with the appointment of former Pa-ralympic athletes Mikhail Terentiev and Vla-dimir Krupennikov into the Russian duma(parliament) being instrumental in initiatingthe change of attitudes to disabled people inRussia. The change could also be led from asocial perspective with the simple TV cove-rage having a positive impact. The incredibledisplays of courage, commitment and athle-tic performance can be instrumental in insti-gating the change in views of disabled

people. And these ‘able’ connotations along-side the presentation of disabled people asglamorous, ambitious and capable is a starkcontrast from the usual image of a victimi-sed minority.

In fact the worldwide main criticism of Pa-ralympic TV coverage is the lack of it. Rus-sia’s main networks only showed brief cove-rage of the London Games as did Japan’sNHK network. Whilst America’s treasuredNBC attracted huge levels of criticism bothnationally and internationally for its scantyTV coverage.

Obviously these factors are inexorably lin-ked. Increased wealth leads to increasededucation regarding disability which in turnleads to social and political change. Thisthen results in increased sporting perfor-mance before inspiring even more TV cove-rage. Regardless of this, as Paralympictorch bearer Sergey Shilov said: “At the be-ginning you have to work hard regardless ofyour background. But where there’s a willthere’s a way.“

And the IPC and Paralympic fans world-wide are hoping that there’s a way to over-come the latest obstacle facing Paralympicsport and I for one, am sure they will.

Technological advance affects every facet of Paralympic sport;from its coverage in the media to the pre-competition preparations.Modern prosthetics are very much a part of this leadingto the enhanced preformance of all athletes.

A competition mono-skicosts as much as a smallfamily hatchback

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Rich vs. Poor

The picture showsa mono-ski-bobsleigh

from 1984. Thetechnical

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Performance levels are increasing faster than ever before and this is partly due tothe massive increase in equipment technology. Surely this can only be good for theParalympic movement as a whole. Some aren’t so sure

JULIA HOLLNAGEL and GEORGE SIMONDS

BiathlonThe biathlon competitions are 7.5 kilometres long and are interrupted by two shooting breaks.

Each shooting competition consists of five shots on a target which stands 10 metres away.Each miss results in a time penalty. The athletes pick up their rifles at the shooting range.

Biathletes compete in short, middle and long distance runs as well as in the relay starts.Athletes with an arm or leg impairment compete in the standing category whilst wheelchair users are categorised as sitting

and compete in a sit-ski. Athletes with a visual impairment are accompanied by a sighted guide,who helps them to navigate their way around the course. The athletes aim by listening to an acoustic signal transmitted to

their headphones by the electronic rifles. Medal favourites are the Russian athletes, like Elena Kaufman (picture), who arestrong in most disciplines. Russian biathlet Roman Petushkova won the first medal for the host country in biathlon. Other

strong contenders are the Ukrainian and American teams.

Paralympics_Tagesspiegel_13. March 2014_8

The five sportsThe Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympic Games will be hometo five different sports, with three taking place in themountains and two at the coastal Olympic Park

Sledgehockey

Curling

Cross-Country

Alpine SkiingIn the cross-country skiing competitions athletes compete in three different dis-

tances: The shortest distance is 1 kilometre and the middle distance is 10 kilome-tres for men and 5 for women. The length of the long-distance track is dependent

on the classification category. In the standing category, the men cover a distance ofover 20 kilometres and women 15 kilometres. The cross-country ski run for the ath-letes in the sitting category is 15 kilometres long for men and 10 for women. Athle-tes with different disabilities and classification categories compete in the relay com-

petitions. Athletes classified as standing use cross-country skis while the sittingathletes use specialised sit-skis. Athletes with a visual impairment are assisted by

a sighted guide who gives directions and warns about upcoming obstacles andturns. As in most sports the strong Russian team is one of the medal favourites

with athletes such as Nikolay Polukhin and Irek Zaripow. Other contenders includeathletes from the USA and Ukraine with Lyudmyla Pavlenko (picture).

Alpine skiing is a fast and exciting sport to watch. There are seven different discipli-nes to follow: Downhill, Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super G, Super Combined, Team

Events and for the first time at the Paralympic Games: snowboarding.The male and female athletes in the standing category race downhill at an ave-

rage spead of 120 kilometres per hour. The competitors in the sitting category raceon sitting or mono-skis. They keep their balance with help of two sticks which have

mini-skis at the ends.Para-snowboarding will make its Paralympic debut at the games in Sochi. The

male and female athletes compete in the lower limb catagory. The sport is not yetopen for athletes with upper body or visual impairments. The athletes start one af-ter the other in the boardercross competition. The best two times of the three runs

are added together. The two most promising athletes are Evan Strong and MikeShea both from the US team.

Sledge hockey is one of the most popular and fascinating Paralympic winter sports.Two teams of 5 outfield players and a keeper play against each other. The male ath-

letes, who are wheelchair users in daily life, glide across the ice in their dou-ble-blade sledges. The sledges are made of steel or aluminium with a seat.

The athletes use two sticks, which have a spike-end for pushing anda blade-end for shooting the puck into the opposing team’s goal.

The goals and playing field are the same size as in ice hockey. Most of the rules arealso similar. One of the differences is that the playing time is shorter.

The thirds are just 15 minutes each.In Sochi eight teams are competing for the three medals.

Medal favourites are defending champions and world champions USA.The Canadian and Russian teams also have medal hopes.

Two mixed-gender teams with four players play against each other in wheelchaircurling. All athletes are wheelchair users in daily life. The teams alternate in pus-

hing the granite stone, which weighs 20 kilograms, over the ice. The stone is turnedby hand or a specialised stick giving it direction on the ice. As no sweeping techni-ques are used, the athletes have to be very precise when giving it the right push tomove the stones towards the house at the end of the 42 metre long ice lane. The

objective is to place all stones in the four rings of the house and to push the oppo-sing team’s stones in a disadvantageous position. Every stone that is succesfully

placed in the house wins points depending on its exact position. After eight roundsthe team with the most points wins. The Canadian team who won the gold medal at

the 2010 Games are this year’s favourites. Sweden and China are their toughestcompetitors for the gold medal.

9_Paralympics_Tagesspiegel_13. March 2014

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For a brief period during the Paralym-pic Games the world’s media are fo-cused on the trials and tribulationsof people with disabilities. But what

about the plight of those who aren’t skiing,sliding or shooting? We decided to find out.

ThreeweeksbeforetheParalympicGamesin Sochi started, we had our last workshop, toensure we are well prepared for our work du-ring the games. So we all headed out to Mos-cow where six times Paralympic championand Paralympic flame lighting athlete SergeyShilov told us that ‘the Russian capital is thesecond most accessible city in the country’.

After hearing thi, I wasn’t sure whether tolaugh or cry. I had realised in my few days inthe capital, that for pretty much all wheel-chair users it is almost impossible to movealong the city without any help. Often therewere no ramps to the pavement or if theremiraculously was one, they were simply toosteep. By the way: we didn’t see a single ele-vator that would bring a wheelchair user(such as I am) downwards onto the subway.There were only incredibly long escalators

with an almost dangerous angle. Fortuna-tely for me, I am able to stand and walkshort distances; whilst I also had several hel-pful colleagues on hand to carry my wheel-chair. So after an often challenging few daysin Russia’s second most accessible city wewere very interested to see the situation inthe most accessible one – Sochi.

I think it is important to remember that du-ring the Paralympics a large number ofpeople with disabilities are on Sochi’sstreets and so our test probably isn’t repre-sentative of the city as a whole. My editorialcolleague and friend George Simonds and Itested the city’s accessibility with my wheel-chair. We started at our accommodation. Onour way to the Press Centre we decided tohead into a small corner shop to get sup-plies for our long day of writing. There was asmall ramp leading onto the pavement; al-though it was located about 20 metres awayfrom the supermarket’s entrance. There-fore, whilst accessible to a wheelchair userit required careful planning from any poten-tial disabled customer. Once inside therewere no problems; the staff were on hand tohelp me reach any item. First test, passed!

Then we began to meet our first few pro-blems. Attempts to make the pavementwheelchair-friendly were clear to see; al-though obviously this was not possibleeverywhere. For the next part of my journey Ineeded all of the help I could get. Initially asmall obstacle in the form of a low kerb wasovercome. We then found ourselves stan-ding in front of a little improvised bridge. Atthe beginning there was a ramp leading totwo large steps onto the bridge. It was evenworse on the other side of the bridge; noramp - just three stairs. A paraplegic can’tget out of his wheelchair and so there is vir-tually no chance for him to handle this situa-tion without help. And after the bridge, itdidn’t get any better. We then came across aset of long stairs and to our delight we saw aramp built next to it. I, however, struggled toimagine that any wheelchair user could useit as it was so steep. Thus I was forced tostand as I was quite worried about breakingmy neck. After managing to scale the stairsthe fast flowing road seemed a surprisinglyeasy obstacle to overcome as all the driverswere very considerate and stopped to let uspass. In an attempt to speed up our progress

we then tried to take the bus. Unfortunatelythe public one that arrived next was comple-tely inappropriate for wheelchairs. No ramp,no lift, nothing. So we were forced to conti-nue (on foot and wheel respectively).

After our experience with the bus we deci-ded to test whether all forms of public trans-port were as inaccessible for people with adisability. Therefore, we decided to checkout the local train station. The problem herewasn’t the accessibility; instead it’s the ver-bal communication (or lack of it) due to a rat-her large language barrier. And thus actu-ally understanding each other was the lar-gest problem as there were a few accessibi-

lity issues. The station was equipped withboth ramps and a lift; enabling us to reachall the platforms. Getting onto the train waseasier if you had help but would be possibleif you were completely independent, too. It isimportant to say that this is the station clo-sest to the Paralympic Park and as far as ac-cessibility is concerned it is almost ideal. Itbecame clear to us that the closer we got tothe Park the better the accessibility is. Nextto each set of stairs we found a ramp and allof them were fine to use. So it didn’t takelong for us to reach the Main Press Centre.Here they were all set for wheelchair usersand everything worked very well.

On our journey home again we decided tostop in a large local supermarket. The ser-vice here was excellent. A worker immedia-tely showed us the lift to the upper floor andif not there was an electric ramp too. He wasboth considerable and helpful and helped usall the way through our purchase.

After our bad experience with the publicbus we finally decided to take the special So-chi bus. They certainly were better equip-

ped; with, in the worst case scenario, a hand-operated ramp which could be deployed.There was also a deluxe edition with an elect-ric lift which could not be more comfortable.The bus drivers didn’t have to be asked, theride was smooth and there were even seatbelts. And so whilst wheelchair accessibilitywas not possible everywhere in some placesand situations it was outstanding.

It is very hard to fairly evaluate the acces-sibility of Sochi as a whole; at times it is flaw-less whilst at others it does leave a lot to bedesired. Though everyone we encounteredmade a real effort to create the best atmo-sphere possible.

How does it feel to be at the Games asa journalist? Take a look at the Para-lympic diary of our young reporters:tagesspiegel.de/paralympics

Sometimes the problemis verbal communication

How barrier-free are supermarkets,public transport systems and public

buildings in Sochi?We tried to find out.

Paralympic Post reporters JonasWengert (in a wheelchair) andGeorge Simonds test theaccessibility in Adler.

Paralympics_Tagesspiegel_13. March 2014_10

First steps to accessibility

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Accessibility inside the Olympic Park of Sochi is almost perfect. But what about the public transportand public buildings in the country’s most barrier-free city? We carried out a test to find outJONAS WENGERT and GEORGE SIMONDS

What are the main differences betweenthe Olympic and Paralympic Games?First of all, I think one should focus on whatthey have in common. The Paralympicshave undergone a great amount of develop-ment within the last few years. The entireParalympic movement has shifted its focusfurther towards sports and athletic achieve-ment. There are far more similarities todaythan in the past when the social aspect wasmore prominent in the Paralympic Games.This common ground has also made the co-operation between the International Para-lympic Committee, IPC, and the IOC muchbetter and easier in recent years.

As President of the IOC, you must be con-fronted with the recurring discussionabout whether or not the Paralympic andOlympic Games should be held after eachother, together or independently. What isyour opinion on this question?This question should actually be put to theInternational Paralympic Committee (IPC).My impression is that the current situationis very satisfactory. The Olympics are a ‘dri-ving force’ for the Paralympics when itcomes to potential candidate cities. Theyopen doors for the Paralympic movement,which might otherwise not be as easily ac-cessible. The third reason the current orderis preferable is that it offers the Paralympicathletes the platform they deserve. As Isaid, this is the IPC’s matter. But an additio-nal aspect,which should be consideredwhen thinking about combining the twoevents is the logistical challenge this wouldprovide. The Olympic venues and accommo-dation could not be re-used but would haveto be built additionally and on top. Thiswould not be in accordance with the sustain-ability aspect and could reduce the numberof cities interested in hosting future games.

Due to the cancelled visits of some Wes-tern delegations, these Paralympic Gamesin Sochi are more political than ever be-fore. Do you think this is justified?

Every government has to decide how theywant to support their athletes and team atthese games themselves. I do not think theParalympic or Olympic Games are suitableplatforms to deal with political disputes. AsI said during the Opening Ceremony of theOlympic Games, I think the Olympics andParalympics should do the exact opposite:Both Games convey a positive message and

values of unity and peace between the parti-cipating nations, which should not be disrup-ted by political disagreements. Everyonewill have their own answer to the questionof whether or not these gestures – to put itpositively – have any political significance.

Does this mean you think sports and poli-tics can be separated?No. In our world, everything is political tosome degree so politics cannot be disregar-ded completely. Sports are to remain politi-cally neutral, which does not mean they areagainst politics. Of course, we have to recog-nise that we currently have a very delicate po-litical situation. This has to be acknowledged.

Do you think the Paralympic Winter Gamesin Sochi can influence Russian society’s at-titude towards people with disabilities?The answer is yes! We have also experi-enced this positive change at the Paralym-pics in Beijing 2008. The games were ableto make quite a difference regarding the

attitude towards the abilities and achieve-ments of people with a disability in China. Iam positive that these Paralympic Gamesand the athletes’ amazing performanceswill also have a positive influence on Rus-sian society.

Having competed at several Olympic Ga-mes yourself, how do you rate the accom-plishment of athletes with a disability whofight their way back to daily life and compe-titive sports, for example after an accidentor an illness?I find this to be a most admirable and bril-liant achievement. I think it is very im-pressive if a professional athlete whowas handicapped by an accident finds thestrength to overcome this and adjust totheir new situation in life. In my opinion,this dedication, motivation, enduranceand positive attitude demands our re-spect and admiration. Questions by Anastasija Arinushkina

and David Kramer

The first days of Paralympics in Sochicouldn't be better for the fans of alpineand Nordic skiing: blue sky, sun and

the monumental panorama of the Caucasus.But of course they came there for anotherreason: supporting their teams. And you canalready say that they're doing a great job!The stadiums are full of cheers and flags.You can feel that everybody is having a goodtime. The sportsmen and women feel the spi-rit and are giving their very best.

In Nordic skiing Russia clearly dominatesthe competitions. The best example was themedalceremonyofMen'sBiathlon15kilome-ters sitting competition: with Roman Pe-tushkov, Irek Zaripov and Aleksandr Davido-vich, three Russians were on the medalists'podium. But also other nations are doing verywell. The Ukrainians won gold and silver andGerman athlete Andrea Eskau also won agoldmedal.OnSaturdaytheGermansexperi-encedarealgoldrushwhenAnnaSchaffelhu-ber won the women's downhill race.

The Japanese fans could celebrate theirgold and silver medals in the men's SuperG race and Marie Bochet from France wasthe fastest in the downhill standing disci-

pline. Despite all the joy about the results,there are always two sides to the story.Especially during the alpine ski competiti-ons the spectators hold their breath whenthey see spectacular accidents. The pisteis quite demanding and due to the warmweather conditions it is very uneven. That'swhy many athletes fell and Tyler Walkerfrom the US even had to be air-lifted tothe hospital. Besides the problems withthe snow, there's another factor which pre-sents difficulties for the athletes: it's sim-ply too warm. Andrea Eskau had to breakoff a competition the day after her goldmedal because of problems with her breat-hing. A reason may be the warm weather,which is 12˚ C in the mountains. This is ahuge difference for athletes who aren'tused to "spring" in the mountains. Howe-ver, thanks to hard training and concentra-tion the athletes give their best andachieve excellent results. Katharina Schiller

tagesspiegel.de/paralympicsResults, Pictures, Analysis. Moreimpressions of our reporters here:facebook.com/ParalympicsZeitung

IOC President Bach metDavid and Nastja in the

Paralympic Family Hotelduring his stay in Sochi

These Paralympics willhave a positive influenceon Russian society

Andrea Eskau of Germanycompetes in Women's 12kmSitting of Cross-Country.

“Positive change“

11_Paralympics_Tagesspiegel_13. March 2014

Sunny skies andfirst results

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Thomas Bach, Presidentof the InternationalOlympic Committee, IOC,about the developmentof the Paralympicmovement and therelationship betweensports and politics

The alpine and Nordic skiing competitions got off to ablistering start in the mountains at Krasnaya Polyana,with the Russian and German teams dominating

I really like the kit the Frenchteam is wearing; it is typically

Lacoste. I like the grey and the chinopants, they give the team a certainlaid-back chic. I am especially de-lighted with the tricolor scarf. I wouldwear it myself. Although the design isnot especially daring, it is altogethervery attractive and wearable.

I would have loved it if the de-sign had been chosen to make a

political statement, to emphase a point.It’s a pity that it’s meant as a fashionstatement. Because the question I haveto ask myself is: What fashion state-ment? Personally, I find the red flaredpants quite daring and so I am not surpri-sed that the brightly coloured designcaused a large international stir.

Anna Schaffelhuber,German athlete Ski Alpin“Our outfis are definitely very colourful and so we won’tbe overlooked. As at most other games, we stand out ofthe crowd. Which is exactly what we want to do in thecompetitions as well. So the reference is correct: We defi-nitely don’t come across as grey and dull!“

Benoir Hetet,Press Officer Federation Francaise Handisport“Lacoste made very elegant and modern outfits for theFrench team. They're quite classic, but the athletes ap-

preciated them very much. The other countries did aswell, because they asked us whether we would like toswap our clothes with them after the Games. We also re-ally like the German outfit because it's visible and fresh.They're adapted to an international and very colourfulevent.“

Talchuk Kaleriya and Victoria Semenets,Russian volunteers at the Paralympics“The Russians’ outfits are bright and colourful. We reallylike them. It reminds us of a white bear, showing off theRussian culture.“

tagesspiegel.de/paralympicsResults, Pictures, Analysis. Morereaction from our reporters here:facebook.com/ParalympicsZeitung

The design is quite folkloristic.I can’t decide whether to say

“for heaven’s sake“ or “how cute“. Ifind the traditional design quite char-ming but not particularly modern. Ho-wever, the hats the female athletes arewearing are really cool.

Beside the Paralympics there are also theDeaflympics for deaf people and the SpecialOlympics, the largest organisation forpeople with an intellectual disability, incorpo-rating 4.2 million athletes from over 170countries. The Deaflympics last year tookplace in Sofia, Bulgaria, and the next SpecialOlympics will be in Los Angeles, USA, in2015. The Special Olympics Germany, the na-tional championships, take centre stage thisyear in Düsseldorf, Germany, from the19th-23rd of May. Nico Feißt

The motto ‘Hot.Cool.Yours’ raised many eye-brows in the international sporting commu-nity when it was announced in 2012. The So-chi organiers were, however, quick to issuean explanation. ‘Hot’ reflects the intensity ofsporting battles and the passion of thespectators. The ‘Cool’ symbolises the snow,ice and white mountain tops. And finally‘Yours’ indicates that no-one is excludedfrom both participating and experiencingthe joy of the games. George Simonds

Palm trees and snow – what sounds like acontradiction isn't one at all in Sochi. Whenyou arrive at the airport, the first thing yousee is big, green palm trees. No need for awinter coat, temperatures around 15˚C arenormal where the coastal cluster is located.For the skiing events one has to go up to theCaucasus mountains to Krasnaya Polyana,which has become a famous skiing resort inthe last few years. Christina Spitzmüller

Bref!Short!

Kurz!

Paralympics_Tagesspiegel_13. March 2014_12

Germany

Special Olympicscoming upHot.Cool.Sorry,

what?

Julia Müller, 31, isDeputy Managing Editorwith “Brigitte Digital“and writes about fashionand society topics onBrigitte.de. OurParalympic Postreporters KatharinaSchiller and JuliaHollnagel asked herabout her opinion on theParalympic team kits.

France

No need fora winter coat

Très chic!

The Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games showcased a lot of different team kits.Our reporters asked athletes, officials and volunteers about the top three:

Russia

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Style check with Julia Müller.The “Brigitte“-editor knowswhat’s in fashion and whodeserves the gold medal for thebest-dressed team

Henry Wanyoike is running the final lapof the 5000 metres, his guide is ex-hausted. But Wanyoike keeps

fighting, speeding up, pulling his guide overthe finish line. The crowd cheers him on.“They screamed: Go Kenya, keep straight”,Wanyoike remembers winning his first Para-lympic gold medal in Sydney 2000.

This is one of many remarkable scenes inthe documentary “GOLD – You can do morethan you think.” The film tells the emotionalstory of three Paralympians. Henry Wa-nyoike, a visually impaired marathon runner,Kirsten Bruhn, paralysed swimmer and goldmedal winner from Germany and Kurt Fearn-ley, Australian wheelchair racer.

The film, which celebrated its world pre-miere at the international film festival Berli-nale, went on to be shown in cinemas all overthe country. “In the beginning, it seemed tobe a crazy idea to make a film about the livesof three Paralympic athletes. But the out-come is amazing. There is no better way toshow inclusion. The emotional pictures

touch people’s hearts”, said Gregor Doepke,Head of Communication with the German So-cial Accident Insurance (DGUV), who initiatedthe project.

Over years a film team around MichaelHammon followed these outstanding athle-tes through their lives. The film shows themwith their families and friends or working insocial projects. It portrays the motivationand passion the three athletes have for theirsports as well as the hours of hard work andtraining they put into it. GOLD showcaseswhy they are role models.

The movie reached its peak at the 2012London Paralympics. This is the highlightthey have all been working towards. Not allof the portrayed Paralympians win a gold me-dal in the end – but they show that everybodycan achieve more than you think.

Dr. Joachim Breuer, Director General ofthe DGUV, says: “I have watched the filmeight times, and I’m sure that you can stillwatch it in five years. It is a timeless movie.” Nico Feißt

Iam not different from any other girl myage. I have always had the opportunity totry everything I wanted to do,” says AnnaSchaffelhuber. Which is true: The cheer-

ful young woman studies law in Munich, sheis pretty, outgoing and has a passion for ski-ing. The 21-year-old blonde seems to be anordinary girl.

Until a few days ago in Sochi... She now isthe youngest Paralympic gold medallist inthe German team. Yes, she is a Paralympicathlete. Anna is a wheelchair user and racesher mono-ski downhill at breathtakingspeeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour. Du-ring the practice-runs in Sochi, Anna wasthe only racer to make it down the hill wit-hout an accident. Maybe this is because shewas the only athlete who didn’t think shecouldn’t do it. Maybe it is because she belie-ves that she can do anything she wants to do.Anna Schaffelhuber is an excellent exampleof how inclusion should work - and that inclu-sion is not just an unobtainable ideal. Maybeher willpower and way of thinking help tomake a difference in other people’s lives.

“She is a wonderful role model and greatasset for our team,” says Gregor Doepke. Heis head of communication of the German So-cial Accident Insurance (Deutsche Gesetzli-che Unfallversicherung DGUV). Within theDGUV’s many activities, one of their objecti-ves is to promote rehabilitation and preven-tion through sport. “We founded theDGUV-team to show that athletes with a dis-ability have the same opportunities aseveryone else. Equal opportunity is an impor-tant milestone in the process to have a to-tally inclusive society.”

Along with the two winter ParalympiansAnna Schaffelhuber and Andrea Rothfuss,who are both competing in Sochi, two for-mer winter sports athletes and 11 summerParalympians make up the team. The DGUVwants to support and enable all people witha disability to take an active role in their ownlives and in society without any restrictions.

One of their communication tools is theDGUV-team. The members of the team areall successful role models, former andactive athletes, who show that just becauseyou may have a disability, there are barelyany limits to what you can do. Anna Schaffel-huber is one of the younger members of theteam who has never let anything stop herfrom achieving her goals.

“This is exactly the spirit that our societyneeds. People with or without disabilitiesneed to have all options open to them with-out any exceptions,” Dr. Joachim Breuer, theDGUV General Director stresses. This ap-

plies to every aspect of life – social and ofcourse professional. One way to enablepeople to take an active role in their lives isthrough sports.

Sports allow people to experience mobi-lity, motivation and success. Therefore, theDGUV uses sport as a key element to suc-cessful rehabilitation. An outstanding exam-ple to prove that sport is the best way to re-gain an active role in life are the ParalympicGames. Numerous Paralympic athleteshave overcome an accident, a serious illnessor were wounded in war. They have all foughttheir way back to life with ambition and manyhours of hard work and training.

In Germany, the DGUV takes care ofpeople who have recently been in accidents.Aside from practical and technical assis-tance in daily life, one of the DGUV’s goals issuccessful rehabilitation. A very importantpart of this process is sport. The aim is notnecessarily to introduce patients to competi-tive sports but to enable them to take anactive part in their daily life as well as intheir professional life. Athletic achieve-ments help regain a positive attitude andmental strength. Just like a Paralympian,just like Anna Schaffelhuber, who has wontwo gold medals in Sochi so far.

German athlete Anna Schaffelhuber enters the stadiumduring the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014Paralympic Winter Games at the Fisht Olympic Stadium.

“Equal opportunity is animportant milestone“

Swimmer andParalympic

athleteKirsten Bruhn

(l) at thepremiere of

the movie“GOLD - Youcan do more

than youthink“.

You can do morethan you think

13_Paralympics_Tagesspiegel_13. March 2014

The very top

GOLD - The amazing documentaryabout three Paralympians which

has moved thousands of people isnow available on DVD and Blu-ray

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Anna Schaffelhuber - Paralympian, gold medalwinner and law student doesn’t let anything stop her

NICO FEIßT and KARIN PREUGSCHAT

Embracing social media like no other, athle-tes are giving inside accounts of what it feelslike to be a Paralympic competitor. Socialmedia is becoming more important withevery passing day. Less than ten years ago,social media sites were almost non-exis-tent. Now every athlete, journalist and sup-porter is tweeting updates, posting thoughtson Facebook and sharing pictures on Instag-ram. Twitter is an amazing forum for fansand athletes to connect. An excellent exam-ple is Australian alpine skier Jessica Gallag-her (@JessGallagher86), who also competedin two sports at London 2012. She showca-ses how athletes of all nationalities can com-municate directly with supporters, postingexclusive snaps and updates from her trai-ning and competitions in Sochi. Bradley Neen

Otto Bock has opened a free technical sta-tion in the Paralympic Mountain Village. 28technicians from different countries are wor-king night and day to fix any problems Para-lympic athletes have with their prosthetics.

Otto Bock was created in 1919 and at thetime all prosthetics were made individually.The company began working at the Paralym-pics in 1988 when they took only two bagsand an umbrella and set off on their journeyto Korea. Although the founder wants to en-sure everything is more standardised,sportsmen still have to customise their pro-sthetics. The reason is that their successisn’t just dependent on the technical charac-teristics but also on their ability to use themin the most efficient way. In many ways pro-sthetics are even more complicated thanFormula One cars - they are special parts ofbodies.

Today Otto Bock makes prosthetics foreveryday life as well as sports: in an attemptto increase participation levels and to in-spire disabled people to leave their comfortzone as well as lowering their financialcosts.

However, even the most modernized pro-sthetics can't turn you into a superhuman.Athlete Genrich Popov says that if it worksfaster than a healthy leg it will only makethings worse.

Sometimes the equipment plays an essen-tial role and can even dictate the chances ofathletes to win. However, almost all Paralym-pic athletes would only wish to be healthyand have no technical enhancements ratherthan have brand-new prosthetics. Anna Lisina

tagesspiegel.de/paralympicsResults, Pictures, Analysis. Morereaction from our reporters here:facebook.com/ParalympicsZeitung

If you think about the Olympic and Paralym-pic Games, you picture sportsmen, journa-list and spectators. The volunteers are, how-ever, not always recognised. Volunteers intheir colourful uniforms all around the ve-nues in Sochi are always easy to spot. Theyare pro-active, chatty and eager to help.

The Winter Games in Sochi are unique be-cause all of the infrastructure in the city wasbuilt from scratch in a short amount of time.Meaning that many people who live in Sochidon’t know where to find every new venue ortransport link. Although the volunteers areon hand to answer these questions.

Volunteers should be friendly, helpful andselfless. So whilst you may think that thework of volunteers is easy, their twelve hourshifts ensure that they are the real heroes.Thankfully, the venue announcers praise thevolunteers during every game, so they al-ways get some recognition for their hardwork. Anton Latynin

Peter Kaadtmann, team manager of the Ger-man TV-channel ZDF, gave a be-hind-the-scene-tour to writers from the Pa-ralympic Post. He then showed them the stu-dio which they share with the other Germanpublic-sector broadcaster ARD, in the Inter-national Broadcast Centre in Sochi. “All ofthe technical equipment comes in a shipfrom Germany. The office fittings we have tohire locally“, Kaadtmann says. An officechair for example costs around 20 Euros aday. However, these expenses are certainlyworth it. With both channels broadcastingover 20 hours of coverage directly from theParalympics in Sochi, the TV ratings areeven better than at the Olympic Games! Christina Spitzmüller

On the 11th of March, three years after theearthquake that led to the tsunami in Japan,Yurika Abe will compete in the LW6cross-country skiing at the Paralympic Ga-mes. The 18-year-old was one of millions ofvictims of the tsunami, luckily she and herrelatives survived. But the scale of the disas-ter means she thinks her exploits have theability to give hope to her compatriots afterthe disaster. Born with a paralysed left arm,Abe only took up the sport three years agoafter watching the event in Vancouver. Sincethen she has been incredibly hard workingand passionate in her long term aim to beone of the best athletes in the world. Al-though at the moment she is just pleased tobe able to represent her country and hercompatriots here in Sochi. Katharina Schiller

Sergej Shilov, a former Russian biathletewho won six gold medals in his career, heldthe Paralympic flame at the Opening Cere-mony in Sochi. Although he isn’t participa-ting in the games this year, he still watchesevery biathlon competition. When askedwhat it felt like to carry the torch, he answe-red: “It is a very special feeling. People havetold me that they wanted to cry whilst theywere watching the ceremony, and I repliedby saying that I was also conscious of this.Our government understands that peoplewith disabilities are also real sportsmen andthey support us. So it is just awesome, whenyou are there and you prove yourself. Andshow that even people with disabilities cando sports in a professional situation. I amproud that the Paralympic Games are beingheld in Russia for the first time. I hope thatpeople with disabilities who stay at homecan look at this ceremony, and can see thatpeople with disabilities are active and dosports and can even win medals. So whycan't they go outside and try and take part?That is my purpose.“ Anasatasija Arinushkina

Explosive out ofthe ’Bock’

Bref!Kurz!

Short!

Knights incolourful armour

Behind thescenes

Hope of thenation

Paralympics_Tagesspiegel_13. March 2014_14

Carryingthe torch

Tweeting andposting

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This is the beginning of a lasting le-gacy. A lasting legacy for Sochi, forRussia, for the world.” This was thepromise of Dmitry Chernyshenko du-

ring the Paralympic Opening Ceremony.Chernyshenko, the man challenged with or-ganising the games, used a word that is of-ten spoken during the Paralympic Games: le-gacy. At London 2012, fans and journalistsspoke of the legacy and what it would bringto the city and for disabled sports. The le-gacy is the lasting impact of the games, suchas what will happen with the venues and howParalympic sport will continue to be popula-rised throughout a country. All of this helpsto maintain the momentum of the Paralym-pic movement.

In London, the Olympic Park has been re-named the Queen Elizabeth II Park. TheOlympic Stadium is being used for the 2015Rugby World Cup, the 2017 Athletics WorldChampionships and will soon be home toPremier League football club West Ham Uni-ted. Some venues have been disassembled,

including the Aquatics Centre and Paralym-pic football pitches. Others have been con-verted. Eton Manor, the collection of tenniscourts used solely for the Paralympics, areto remain as a training centre for the nextgeneration of talented young players.

For Sochi, some would argue it is more dif-ficult to create a viable legacy. London is thefinancial, cultural and most importantly, thesporting hub of England. The same cannotbe said for Sochi, which in the past has hid-den in the shadows of Moscow and St Peters-burg when it came to wealth, popularity orpower.

But for Sochi, there are several plans forafter the games, the city is already lookingforward to more major sporting events. Itwill be the first Russian city to host a For-mula One Grand Prix, starting this year untilat least 2020. It is also a host city for the2018 FIFA World Cup.

The organizing committee is using the2014 games as an opportunity to create Rus-sia’s first-ever international winter sportscentre. The centre will include four of thecoastal cluster venues, and three venues inthe mountains at Krasnaya Polyana.

It is also anticipated that the games willcreate an economic boost for the country.Four ski resorts designed to house 42,000tourists have been built, with the hope of pro-moting Sochi as a holiday destination for af-ter these games. The 2014 games have alsohelped to boost employment in Russia, withthe Olympic and Paralympic project creatingin excess of 560,000 new jobs.

Many of the venues in the coastal clusterwill be converted to either becomemulti-purpose sport centres or entertain-ment facilities.

Before London 2012, IPC President SirPhillip Craven said, “what I am hoping for isgreater visibility of our athletes before, du-ring and after the games. This could be oneof the legacies of London 2012.” And now,you see the faces of Ellie Simmonds and Jon-nie Peacock on television. People know thenames, elite disability sport is now taken se-riously in a way few expected. The team be-hind London 2012 hoped that the Olympicand Paralympic Games would "inspire a ge-neration." And it did just that – people arewilling to try Paralympic sports.

It was a Paralympics where spectators fi-nally started to focus on ability rather thandisability, a request many Paralympianshave always made. "I think people are goingto look back at this Paralympic Games andfor the first time really, truly believe that Pa-ralympic sport is not just inspirational, it'shard-core sport," said blade-runner Pisto-rius.

Sochi will also help Russia progress to-wards a barrier-free society. An environ-

ment where everyone is included. Thismeans both the infrastructure and attitudechanges need to be instigated. Dmitry Cher-nyshenko also spoke of the removal of bar-riers in his Opening Ceremony speech. “So-chi became the first Russian city where theconcept of a barrier-free environment wasfully implemented.”

It is the job of the legacy to ensure thatthis change can be implemented across thewhole of Russia. Of course, it will not be animmediate change. But an international

sporting event such as the Paralympics,which brilliantly showcases the talents of dis-abled people, can be a catalyst for change.

An interesting project that has been crea-ted is the innovative “Accessibility Map.” Theproject was designed to help people with dis-abilities to find a place with information onsports and accessible venues. Everyone cancontribute: the Accessibility Map comprisesinformation from individuals and volunteersall over Russia and it currently covers over14,000 venues. This is another step in theright direction, to help develop a society thatshowcases equal opportunities.

Sir Phillip Craven spoke of the desire forSochi to initiate change. “Together [the athle-tes and officials] are the catalysts forchange. You have the ability to change per-ceptions and alter attitudes like no other.You have superb sporting venues to expressyour amazing talents and live up to the Para-lympic values of determination and courage,inspiration and equality.”

A legacy is forged through a desire tobetter yourself, to enhance the lives ofothers, and most importantly to raise awa-reness for Paralympic sport and disabledpeople in society. The idea is to create atangible legacy. One that can last for deca-des and change perceptions worldwide. Amovement which can change the lives ofdisabled people forever. In 10 years time,the hope is that Craven’s words will not bea dream, but reality.

Sochi is looking forwardto more sporting events

Half a million jobs werecreated in the region

A worker sweeps the bridgeat the public entrance of theOlympic Park and coastalOlympic venues ahead ofthe 2014 Sochi WinterOlympics (left picture).Extensive work was alsocarried out on the publictransport system.

Inside the Olympic Park you will findthe Iceberg Skating Palace (upperpicture) and the Bolshoy Ice Dome.

Uncertain legacy

15_Paralympics_Tagesspiegel_13. March 2014

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Sochi will host FormulaOne races and the WorldCup. But can it alsobecome Russia’sfirst-ever internationalwinter sports centre?

BRADLEY NEEN

It may still be over two years ahead but forthe 2016 Rio Organising Committee thecountdown to the start of the games is be-

ginning to come close. Anticipation levelsare rising daily; not helped by Brazilian presi-dent Dilma Rousseff’s promise that the Riogames ‘will be the best ever’. But whatshould you expect when the world’s greatestsporting event arrives in Rio in August 2016?

The athletics events (held in the MaracanaStadium) will be a real crowd-pleaser especi-ally if poster boy Alan Oliveira hits theheights he seems capable of at the moment.Oliveira, the controversial winner of the T44200m in London, is currently under increa-sing allegations following the questionsmade about the fairness of his blade length(for more information see page 6). With thedebate intensifying, his times continue todrop. We will have to wait until 2016 to findout just how fast he can run.

Apart from athletics Brazil are set to fea-ture strongly in judo, goal ball and football.With all three strongly represented with me-dals in London. For the first time Brazil alsohas the opportunity to enter a wheelchairrugby team and therefore ’Murderball’ issure to be one of the hits of the games.

There will be no better place for the athle-tes to prepare than the purpose-built ath-lete village. The 53-hectare facility equippedwith 17,700 beds and a 5,500 seater diningroom; looks set to be the best yet. Providingthe athletes with a prime opportunity to per-form at their best, giving the 2 million ticketholders an unprecedented show of sportingperformance. As such broadcasters (inclu-ding the British Channel 4 and AmericanNBC) are planning to offer an unparalleledlevel of coverage.

So whilst I cannot promise that the gameswill live up to the levels of expectation manyfans feel, preparations are looking good.With Rio set to offer an unforgettable fewdays of incredible performances, jaw-drop-ping athletic endeavour and levels of equa-lity and acceptance that are so unique to theParalympic Games. Although I can tell youthe best place to find out whether they did:and that’s right here in the Paralympic Post.

So see you in Rio (in 910 days’ time). GEORGE SIMONDS

Itall beganwith aphonecall ten years ago:“Couldyou imagine workingonanewspa-per project with young reporters who co-ver the Paralympic Games?” This soun-

dedlikeaninterestingchallenge–journalism,educationalworkandallatanexcitinginterna-tional sports event. Working on the Paralym-pics Zeitung at my first Paralympics in Athenswas an unforgettable experience.

Since then the project initiator GermanSocial Accident Insurance (Deutsche Ge-setzliche Unfallversicherung, DGUV), DerTagesspiegel and the agency panta rheihave co-published the paper in every hostcountry of the games and Germany. Forten years the international newspaper pro-ject has changed the attitudes and lives ofall the young reporters, supporters andmillions of readers.

The Paralympic Games symbolise enthusi-asm, ambition, motivation, fascination,goose bumps and tears. All of these emoti-ons make it difficult for a journalist to keepthe distance they need to write about a cer-tain topic. But the Paralympics just captivatetheir audience. Numerous students will ne-ver forget the many hours, days and monthsthey spent as reporters at the games beco-ming members of the ever-growing Paralym-pic family at the same time.

In Athens 2004, the first edition of the Para-lympics Zeitung was written by the studentsof the German School in Athens right next tothe Olympic Park. The first print run was only5000 copies: start small, think big. The To-rino 2006 edition contained articles in four dif-ferent languages and received the EuropeanUnion’s European Language Label.

Equality and inclusion were both impor-tant topics during the games in China. AParalympics Zeitung’s delegation accompa-nied German chancellor Angela Merkel toBeijing where an agreement was signedallowing the Paralympics Zeitung to bepublished in Chinese and German – as oneof the first Western publications. The ve-nues were full, 90 000 fans were cheeringthe biggest games yet – with Oscar Pisto-rius one of the games’ stars.

During the 2010 Vancouver Games thefirst Paralympic Post was published. Theinternational team of young journalistswrote the articles in Canada while theTagesspiegel produced and edited duringnight shifts. The Paralympic Post/Paralym-pics Zeitung’s reporters were not onlysource of information but also interviewpartners for professional broadcasters.The Vancouver edition was awarded the"World Young Reader Prize“ in the cate-gory ’Making the News‘ by the world asso-ciation of newspaper publishers.

Thanks to our co-publisher, the DGUV, theyoung reporters who were selected fromhundreds of applicants from around theworld for the London 2012 project, first mettheir international colleagues at a prepara-tory workshop before the Games.

The Paralympic Post at London 2012 had atotal circulation of around five million copiesand was published in cooperation with theLondon Evening Standard. On this occasionof the Paralympics Zeitung’s ten year anni-versary and the first-ever Paralympics inRussia, the project reached new dimensi-ons. Our Russian edition Paralimpijskij Re-porter is a supplement to the Russiannewspaper Vedomosti (Rostov-on-Don). Thenext issue of the Paralympics Zeitung will bepublished as a supplement to the Germanweekly "Die Zeit" as well as to "Handels-blatt", "Tagesspiegel" and "Potsdamer Neu-este Nachrichten".

As one of the young reporters Maxie fromBerlin said during the closing ceremony ofthe London 2012 Paralympics: "This hasbeen the best experience of my life", “Butdon’t you have a boyfriend?“, "Still."

How does it feel to be at the games asa journalist? Take a look at the Para-lympic diary of our young reporters:tagesspiegel.de/paralympics

"This has been the bestexperience of my life"

In 2016, theParalympics will bestaged in SouthAmerica: in Rio deJaneiro, Brazil.

The first edition waswritten in Athens 2004 (Top) Paralympic Post

reporters get theirhands on the paper inSochi. Former Germanpresident Horst Köhlerwith Annette Kögel.

Paralympics_Tagesspiegel_13. March 2014_16

The countdown begins

Still going strong

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Levels of expectation arerising daily but will the2016 Rio Games really ’bethe best games ever’?

Ten years of enthusiastic young journalists, exciting articles,six Paralympic Games and millions of readers - 2014 marksthe anniversary of the international project Paralympics Zeitung

ANNETTE KÖGEL