Mega-events like the Olympics have the potential to start important conversations around societal change. But improving the lives of disabled people takes much more than that.
New mom Natalie Geisenberger, of Germany, celebrates winning the gold medal in luge women’s singles at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Sport policy and practices to support pregnant athletes impacts athletes across all levels of sport. We have an opportunity to change the future for athletes.
Andrew Parsons, president of the International Paralympic Committee, speaks at the opening ceremony at the 2022 Winter Paralympics. The IPC announced on March 3 that all athletes from Russia and Belarus would be barred from competing.
(AP Photo/Andy Wong)
It’s time for organizations like the IPC to stop lamenting the intersection of sport and politics, and instead accept this well-established reality going forward.
Some reports suggest around 24% of Olympians and Paralympians suffer with poor mental health after the Games.
Malaysia’s Chew Wei Lun plays a shot during a gold medal Boccia match at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. Boccia is only one of three summer Paralympic sports where athletes can compete while using a powerchair.
(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Within the parasport community itself, inclusivity and access is a real issue, especially for those who do not fit the mold of how we think an athlete “should” look or move.
Most sporting equipment is designed with typical able-bodied athletes in mind, whereas custom equipment to meet a particular Paralympian’s needs can be expensive. 3D printing offers a third way.
Latifat Tijani of Nigeria lifts 107kg.
KYDPL Kyodo/AP/AAP Photos
Some Paralympic powerlifters lift heavier weights than athletes without disabilities. Here’s what we know about why this might be.
Canada’s Zak Madell (right) and France’s Jonathan Hivernat (left) compete during a semifinal wheelchair rugby match at the Tokyo Paralympic Games.
(AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
The #WeThe15 movement is rooted in good intention and falls short in a big way by using the Paralympic Games as a backdrop to its launch.
Manuela Schaer of Switzerland, right, and Tatyana McFadden of the United States, second from right, compete in the women’s 1500m wheelchair racing T54 final during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Games.
(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
The Paralympics are the stage for a battle between the exclusivity of elite sport and the inclusivity the movement aims to nurture. Can the event effect true social change?
Wheelchair tennis players benefit from greater support than other sports in dealing with hot conditions.
dpa picture alliance archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Since the Games’ post-war beginnings, the Paralympics have become the second-largest mega-event in the international sporting calendar. Is the core purpose being lost?
Swimmer Nikita Howarth of New Zealand competes at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
(Simon Bruty/Olympic Information Service)
The Australian Paralympic Federation took a new approach for the training, preparation and selection of its athletes for the Sydney Games, helping Australia win the most gold and overall medals.
A man is seen through the Olympic rings in front of the New National Stadium in Tokyo.
(AP/Jae C. Hong)
For athletes, COVID-19 means more than cancelled competitions. Having their athletic goals put on hold and their training routines disrupted can take a toll on athletes’ mental health.
Professor of Social Inclusion - UTS Business School - Centres for Business and Social innovation, and Business Intelligence and Data Analytics, University of Technology Sydney