Where: London, England
When: 27 August - 9 September, 2012
With: Dave, Emma, Paul
When Dave and I got back to London, while the Olympics had ended, the Paralympics were in full swing. And while the excitement was not quite where it had been for the Olympics, it was pretty close. When I had been on my original quest for Olympic tickets, Dave was still in New York. So I bought us tickets for the Paralympics thinking at least he can see the stadium and some events. Little did I know that most Paralympic events would be sold out shortly thereafter, so it was a lucky move.
Our first event was at Olympic Park for a night of Track & Field (or Athletics, as the Brits call it). While we were jostled around in a crowd on the way to the stadium, once we were through security, the park was just huge and open, with all the buildings around that we'd all come to know and love during the Olympics.
We arrived early to make sure we could wander around Olympic Park a bit. Lots of places to eat, some beautiful sitting areas along the Thames, and the largest McDonald's I've ever seen. Dave also had the pleasure of meeting his first Mandeville. Doesn't he look thrilled?
We got to see plenty of events in plenty of categories. All the paralympic events are classified in two ways - the event and a classification of the athlete's disability. This makes sure no one has a disadvantage against their competitors and the athletes are evenly stacked against each other.
Honestly, in most of the events, you couldn't even tell that anyone had a disability. Other than the classifications and lack of well-known names, the entire evening was no less exciting than the Olympics. These people were top-notch athletes and it was thrilling to watch all the events. The hardest part was keeping your eye on all the events occurring simultaneously. Races around the track, shotput and discus in the center, and long jump off the to side.
The medal ceremony was pretty cool to watch. Three strips of color were laid down on the court, representing the medal the team behind it would be presented.
When: 27 August - 9 September, 2012
With: Dave, Emma, Paul
When Dave and I got back to London, while the Olympics had ended, the Paralympics were in full swing. And while the excitement was not quite where it had been for the Olympics, it was pretty close. When I had been on my original quest for Olympic tickets, Dave was still in New York. So I bought us tickets for the Paralympics thinking at least he can see the stadium and some events. Little did I know that most Paralympic events would be sold out shortly thereafter, so it was a lucky move.
Our first event was at Olympic Park for a night of Track & Field (or Athletics, as the Brits call it). While we were jostled around in a crowd on the way to the stadium, once we were through security, the park was just huge and open, with all the buildings around that we'd all come to know and love during the Olympics.
We arrived early to make sure we could wander around Olympic Park a bit. Lots of places to eat, some beautiful sitting areas along the Thames, and the largest McDonald's I've ever seen. Dave also had the pleasure of meeting his first Mandeville. Doesn't he look thrilled?
Inside, the stadium was huge! And it was filled to the brim by the time the events started.
We got to see plenty of events in plenty of categories. All the paralympic events are classified in two ways - the event and a classification of the athlete's disability. This makes sure no one has a disadvantage against their competitors and the athletes are evenly stacked against each other.
The T20 running events were interesting. These were individuals that have little to no vision. They actually have to train and run their races with a guide who works just as hard to keep pace while leading them around the track. It was not uncommon for a guide to trip and bring himself down with his athlete, which was heartbreaking.
The cool thing was though that the guides get medals right along with their athletes. One of the highlights of the evening was the medal ceremony for the 400m. Gold and silver went to Brazil, and the four guys were just so happy. They couldn't stop cheering, hugging the presenters, and giving each other piggyback rides.
Honestly, in most of the events, you couldn't even tell that anyone had a disability. Other than the classifications and lack of well-known names, the entire evening was no less exciting than the Olympics. These people were top-notch athletes and it was thrilling to watch all the events. The hardest part was keeping your eye on all the events occurring simultaneously. Races around the track, shotput and discus in the center, and long jump off the to side.
World records were smashed, athletes celebrated with flags draped around themselves and cried when medals went around their necks. It was so exciting and felt no different than the Olympics would.
Some of the most impressive events to watch were the wheelchair races. The speed and distance these guys got, using nothing but their arms to power them, was crazy!
The highlight of the evening was the UK's David Weir winning a gold medal. He was favoured to win nearly every wheelchair race in the Paralympics and was the hometown hero. When his race took place, I can't even describe the sound of the stadium. The roar was actually deafening, and sent an electric charge through you so you couldn't help but scream right along with the rest of the crowd.
The night was incredible, and we were so glad we got to go and see Olympic Park.
Throughout the Paralympic Games, our favorite mascots were still hanging around London. Since Dave hadn't seen a trail yet, and Emma and I wanted to see some more, we made a double date night of Wenlock and Mandeville hunting through Regents Park on the Green Trail.
Due to unforeseen construction in Regents Park, we had to start from the end and work our way backwards. For #11, Union Jack Wenlock, we decided to sneak an American flag around him before the Brits noticed.
#10's name was in no way indicative of what he looked like, Rainbow Mandeville. He had a big painting of the UK, complete with a little red-headed Scotsman in Scotland. So we had our red-headed Scottish representative pose for this picture.
The two Brits looking very excited next to #8 Animal Wenlock and the two Americans attempting to look regal next to #9 Regency Mandeville.
An exciting moment for us when we found #7 Victorian Wenlock, complete with a mustache.
The boys monkeyed around with #6 Safari Mandeville.
Everyone pumped fists with #5 Birdy Wenlock, made romantic eyes at #4 Midsummer Night's Dream Mandeville, and silly faces with #3 Rose Garden Mandeville.
Finally a poorly lit group shot around #2 Deckchair Wenlock and back to #1 with a perplexing #1 Sherlock Wenlock.
Our final activity to celebrate the Paralympics was to attend the women's finals in Wheelchair Basketball at the O2. When we walked in, we caught the tail end of the Bronze medal match between USA and Netherlands.
Sadly, our American luck was a little too late for our ladies and the Dutch whooped us.
The gold medal match was between Germany and Australia.The game was pretty exciting and way more violent than we expected. Skill was needed as much in navigating about the court as with shooting the ball. The main defensive technique was to literally block the better players at the wrong end of the court with your chair.
The Aussies put up a good fight, but in the end, Germany had the better shooters and pulled through for the gold.
The medal ceremony was pretty cool to watch. Three strips of color were laid down on the court, representing the medal the team behind it would be presented.
Each team was given a medal and a bouquet of flowers as they wheeled up onto their carpet.
Very cool watching the flags raise up over the crowd.
Really glad I got to take advantage of this once in a lifetime experience of living in a host city of the Paralympic games. They were amazing and incredible and every bit as exciting as the Olympic games.
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