Introduction
The Paralympic Games (Paralympic Games) were founded in 1960. They are hosted by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee and are held specifically for people with disabilities. The World's Largest Comprehensive Games is held every four years after the Summer Olympics and has been held 12 times so far. The Winter Paralympics has been held nine times since it was held in 1976, with a total number of participating athletes approaching 4,000. The competition includes four major events, including alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ice sled ball, and wheelchair sports dance. Each major event includes several minor events. my country participated in the Winter Paralympics for the first time in 2002. At that time, China sent four athletes to participate in alpine skiing and cross-country skiing and achieved a sixth place result.
Origin and Development
The Paralympic Movement began in 1948 after the end of World War II. At that time, the British neurosurgeon Sir Ludwig Guttmann and some celebrities who were enthusiastic about the cause of the disabled organized a competition for wheelchair athletes (mostly World War II veterans with spinal injuries) to participate in during the 1948 London Olympics. Called the Stoke Mandeville Games.
In 1952, Dutch veterans also joined the Paralympic Movement and established the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF) in Stoke, England. Mandeville hosted the International Para Games for the first time, with only 130 athletes from two countries participating. After that, the event was fixed and the International Stoke Mandeville Games was held every year. By 1959, 8 International Games for the Disabled had actually been held.
After two years of careful organization and planning by Sir Ludwig Guttmann from the UK and Professor Antonia Mario from Italy, two weeks after the 1960 Rome Olympics, people from 23 countries around the world 400 disabled athletes participated in the first "Paralympics" held in Rome. The games were later officially recognized as the 9th International Stoke Mandeville Games. The title "Paralympic Games" was not officially approved by the International Olympic Committee until 1984.
When competing in the Paralympic Games, athletes with different natures and degrees of disability compete in different categories and levels according to a set of pre-established classification and grading standards.
Since 1964, the International Olympic Committee has decided that the country hosting the Summer Olympics will host the Paralympic Games, but the venue does not have to be in the same city. Until 1988, the International Olympic Committee made new regulations that the Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games must be held in the same city.
In 1982, the International Coordinating Committee for World Organizations of Sports for the Disabled was established, and the International Olympic Committee recognized it as the governing body of sports for persons with disabilities. Competition events established at the Paralympic Games require its approval.
As time goes by, disabled sports will need stronger international organizations. In 1989, with the active support of the International Disabled Sports Foundation, six organizations belonging to the International Disabled Sports Coordinating Committee (ICC) jointly created the International Paralympic Committee (International Paralympic Committee).
The main task of the International Paralympic Committee is to form an organization that represents disabled athletes internationally, grant the right to host the Paralympic Games, supervise and assist the games, and expand opportunities for disabled people to participate in sports and improve their performance. , integrating disabled sports into international sports.
On June 19, 2000, the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee reached a new agreement: Starting from the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games and the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games, the Paralympic Games Not only will it be held in the same city after the Olympics, but the same sports venues and facilities should be used.
The Paralympic Games have gone through a glorious history of continuous development and growth for more than 40 years. From the beginning, there were only 400 athletes from 23 countries participating, to 3,824 athletes from 122 countries and regions in 2000. Athletes participated in the unprecedented Sydney Paralympic Games, which not only marks the development of the times, but also reflects the progress of human social civilization!
Summer Paralympic Games
The Summer Paralympic Games have been held for 12 times so far. After decades of development and elimination, the competition events of the sports games have changed almost every time. Some are just short-lived, while others are enduring and have been retained to this day. At present, the official competition events stipulated by the International Paralympic Committee include seven-a-side football, five-a-side football, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, boccia, blind goalball, equestrian, sailing, sitting volleyball, wheelchair tennis, blind Judo, wheelchair fencing, cycling, table tennis, powerlifting, archery, shooting, swimming, track and field, rowing, bobsled racing, downhill racing, three-board giant slalom, alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, sit-down skiing, cross-country skiing , sledding ball, etc.
Winter Paralympics
After the end of World War II, winter sports for people with disabilities gradually developed as many injured soldiers and ordinary people tried to participate in skiing again. . An early pioneer in winter sports for people with disabilities was Austrian Sepp Zwicknag, who lost his legs and used prosthetic legs to engage in skiing. Later, there were innovations in the design of ski sports equipment, such as the creation of three-track skiing using crutches - a one-legged athlete wears a ski on one foot, and then uses crutches equipped with small skis respectively. Three traces were left on the ground. This equipment revolution led to the first ski competition in Austria in February 1948, in which 17 disabled people participated. The majority of disabled ski enthusiasts welcomed this competition so much that the first Austrian Three-Board Ski Championship was held in Badgastein, Austria the following year.
In the 1970s, ski competitions began to be held involving athletes with various disabilities.
In 1974, the first World Championships were held in Grand Bornand, France. The competition consisted of two events: alpine skiing and cross-country skiing. Participated by amputees and visually impaired athletes.
In 1976, the first Winter Paralympics was held in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. More than 250 blind and amputee athletes from 14 countries participated in the competition, which included alpine skiing. and Nordic skiing.
Today, athletes belonging to different disability categories compete at their respective levels. Visually impaired athletes are guided while skiing by a guide using an intercom device or loudspeaker. Athletes with above-knee amputations use single skis and ski crutches. Athletes with below-knee amputation use prosthetic limbs and then compete in ski races in the same way as able-bodied people. Athletes with double amputations or spinal cord injuries (paralysis) use sit-skis. Athletes with arm amputations do not use poles when skiing.
At present, the official competition events of the Winter Paralympics stipulated by the International Paralympic Committee include alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ice sled ball, and wheelchair sports dance. Each event includes Several minor items. For example: alpine skiing includes downhill, super-G, giant slalom and slalom; cross-country skiing (also known as Nordic skiing) includes individual events and team events, with distances from 2.5 kilometers to 20 kilometers; wheelchair sports dance includes standard dance (waltz) , tango, Viennese waltz, foxtrot, quickstep) and Latin dance (rumba, cha cha cha, samba, etc.).
So far, the Winter Paralympic Games have been held for 9 times.
The history of China’s participation in the Paralympic Games
China first organized a team to participate in the 7th Paralympic Games held in New York, USA in June 1984, and then participated in the 1988 and 1992 Paralympic Games. , 1996 and 2000 Paralympic Games. In these five Paralympic Games, China sent 215 athletes, and China won 80 gold medals, 72 silver medals, and 52 bronze medals. 59 athletes broke 75 world records, and 25 athletes broke Paralympic records.
Compared with Western countries, my country’s disabled sports started late and have a weak foundation. In 1984, my country's reform and opening up had just begun. Like other undertakings, sports were still waiting to be developed. In June of this year, disabled sports, like able-bodied sports, returned to the international arena and organized teams to participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games that year. Our country only sent 24 athletes with disabilities to participate in the 7th International Summer Paralympic Games held in Long Island, New York, USA. Two blind girls, Ping Yali and Zhao Jihong, faced strong opponents from all over the world and fought bravely to win the women's B2 and B3 respectively. He won the long jump gold medal in the first level, achieving China's "zero breakthrough" in gold medals at the Olympics one month earlier than our country's shooter Xu Haifeng. To this day, Ping Yali still has some regrets when talking about the 1984 Paralympic Games. When she stood on the podium and listened to the national anthem after winning the gold medal, she didn't leave a photo or a videotape behind. After returning to China, Ping Yali received a reward of 300 yuan and a two-level salary increase, but the latter has never been implemented. After fighting for it, the Beijing Municipal Government also awarded her a house, but subsequent troubles continued and have not been resolved to this day. At this Paralympic Games, the Chinese delegation won 2 gold medals, 13 silver medals, and 9 bronze medals, raised the five-star red flag 24 times, and broke the world record 9 times. The total number of gold medals ranks 23rd.
Generally speaking, my country's participation in the Paralympic Games is "three small and one new", that is, there are fewer participants, fewer events, less experience, and more novices. Due to the small number of players, many novices, lack of on-site experience and lack of training, it is understandable that it is difficult to compete with many strong players in the world. For example, at the Eighth International Summer Paralympic Games held in Seoul in October 1988, more than 4,000 athletes from more than 60 countries and regions participated in 17 major events. Many countries have sent large delegations. The United States, South Korea, etc. have sent teams of four to five hundred people, and there are also five or six countries with delegations of more than two hundred people. However, our country only sent 43 athletes to compete in the four events of track and field, swimming, table tennis and shooting, and only one athlete participated in the shooting event. Faced with the harsh reality of many strong opponents, Zhao Jihong, a B2 female athlete who won a gold medal at the 1984 Paralympic Games, lost to the American athlete by one centimeter and won the silver medal in this long jump competition. In one go, he defeated strong players from the United States, the former Soviet Union, Poland and other countries in the 100-meter and 400-meter races, and won two gold medals in a row. In many competitions, Chinese players and opponents often narrowly win or finish second by just one centimeter or a few tenths of a second. Niu Guiping's 100-meter butterfly and Liu Zebing's 100-meter freestyle were only a few tenths of a second faster than the second place. Zhang Wei's shooting championship was only one step ahead of the runner-up. The three gold medals won by women's table tennis were all achieved by defeating six players in five stages. In some games, they continued to compete throughout the game, and finally won the championship with a two-point advantage. At this Paralympic Games, my country's disabled athletes won 44 medals, including 17 gold medals, 17 silver medals, and 10 bronze medals, and 11 of them broke 9 world records. Ranked 14th in total gold medals.
As an integral part of human rights protection, sports for persons with disabilities have been highly valued by countries around the world. Some countries such as the United States and Australia spend heavily on training professional players and conduct long-term scientific training. On the big stage of sports, people compete for gold and silver. International sports competition for persons with disabilities is becoming increasingly fierce, and the level of competition continues to improve. The competitive level and competitive strength of my country's disabled sports have also been greatly enhanced. At the 9th Paralympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, our country won 11 gold medals, broke the world record 14 times, and ranked 11th in total gold medals. At the 10th Paralympic Games held in Atlanta, USA, in 1996, our country won 16 gold medals, broke the world record 16 times, and ranked 9th in total gold medals. By the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, Chinese athletes won 34 gold medals, broke world records 25 times, and the total number of gold medals rose to sixth place. Zhu Hongyan, a blind girl from Henan, overcame the pain caused by lumbar muscle strain, frozen shoulder and arthritis during training. She practiced for several hours and won 5 swimming gold medals at the Sydney Paralympic Games; Tianjin Sun Changting, a young man, lost a leg in an accident. After every high jump training, his legless trouser legs were soaked with blood. Despite this, through his own efforts, he not only won the Paralympics championship, but also broke the world record. , jumping over a height of 1.90 meters that is insurmountable for many ordinary people; Zhang Xiaoling, a 47-year-old female table tennis athlete from Guangxi who participated in the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th Paralympic Games, has one leg prosthetic. With the ball in hand, she bites the opponent one by one, one point after another, and defeats the opponent. Every time he took home a golden gold medal, he was awarded the honorary title of "Excellent Athlete" by the China Disabled Persons' Federation and the State Sports General Administration.
At the Athens Paralympic Games, the Chinese sports delegation had three distinctive features: First, there were a large number of participants. This delegation consists of 287 people, including 200 athletes, which is 2.3 times the number of athletes sent to the Sydney Paralympic Games. Second, there are many entries. In this Paralympic Games, we will participate in 11 events and 284 events in track and field, swimming, table tennis, shooting, weightlifting, blind judo, cycling, archery, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair tennis, and sitting volleyball. There are 5 more major events than the previous year, and 125 more minor events. Third, there are many novices participating. There are 161 athletes participating in the Paralympic Games for the first time, accounting for 80.5 of the total number of athletes. This group of young athletes is the backbone of my country's participation in the 2008 Paralympic Games.
Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games
Organizational Structure (Paralympic Department)
Paralympic Department: Responsible for coordinating and formulating the preparation work plan for the Beijing Paralympic Games , work plan; coordinate and supervise the progress and implementation of the preparations for the Paralympic Games in various departments; responsible for communication, liaison and coordination with the International Paralympic Committee, the International Paralympic Sports Federation and domestic disability organizations; Provide guiding opinions on special work for the Olympic Games; assist in various training, promotion, and publicity work related to the Paralympic Games.
Emblem
The emblem of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games is based on the sky and the sky. The harmonious unity of place and people is the main line, which integrates Chinese characters, calligraphy and the spirit of the Paralympic Movement. It embodies traditional Chinese culture and the spirit of the modern Olympic movement, and embodies the harmonious unity of "mind, body and spirit" for people with disabilities. The Olympic spirit has profound traditional Chinese cultural heritage.
The graphic part of the emblem, that is, the zigzag shape composed of red, blue, and green, uses calligraphy strokes to show a moving human figure, like a gymnast jumping forward, or like a The athletes spinning in the air on the pommel horse embody the concept of sports. The word "zhi" means birth, endless life and arrival. The shape of the glyph is zigzag, which means going through ups and downs and finally reaching the goal and achieving success.
Among the colors used in the emblem, red means the sun; dark blue means the blue sky; green means the earth. Three strokes of three colors combine to form a moving human figure, which is "Heaven, Earth and Man". It embodies the idea of ??"unity of nature and man" in traditional Chinese culture and expresses modern people's scientific outlook on development and pursuit of movement. Harmony is the concept of harmonious development between human beings, nature and society.
The colors of the emblem also fully reflect the three major concepts of the Beijing Olympic Games. Red is "Chinese Red" with strong Chinese characteristics and embodies the concept of "Humanistic Olympics"; dark blue represents high technology and embodies the concept of "Technological Olympics"; green represents environmental protection and embodies the concept of "Green Olympics" .
The Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games emblem "Heaven, Earth and People" uses Chinese characters as the emblem pattern, and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games emblem "China Seal? Dancing Beijing" uses a seal as the emblem pattern. "Chinese characters" and "China "Seal" are both typical cultural elements of traditional Chinese culture and are full of Chinese cultural characteristics. The two echo each other in terms of ideology and artistic style. The two emblems complement each other and complement each other, highlighting the concept of "Humanistic Olympics", with profound meaning and strong expressive power.
Slogan and concept
“One World One Dream” embodies the essence and universal values ??of the Olympic spirit - unity, friendship, progress, Harmony, participation and dreams express the common desire of the whole world to pursue a better future for mankind inspired by the Olympic spirit. Although humans have different skin colors, different languages, and different races, we all share the charm and joy of the Olympics, and we all pursue the ideal of human peace. We belong to the same world, and we have the same hopes and dreams.
"One World One Dream" profoundly reflects the core concept of the Beijing Olympics and embodies the core and core values ??of the three major concepts of "Green Olympics, Science and Technology Olympics, and Humanistic Olympics". The harmonious values ????contained in the soul of the humanistic Olympics. Building a harmonious society and achieving harmonious development are our dreams and pursuits. "Unity of man and nature" and "harmony is precious" are the ideals and pursuits of the Chinese people for the harmonious relationship between man and nature and between man and man since ancient times. We believe that peace and progress, harmonious development, harmonious coexistence, win-win cooperation, and a harmonious life are the common ideals of the world.
"One World One Dream" is simple and profound, and it belongs to both China and the world. The slogan expresses the lofty ideals of the people of Beijing and China and the people of other countries in the world to share a beautiful homeland, share the fruits of civilization, and create a future hand in hand; it also expresses the greatness of a country with five thousand years of civilization that is making great strides towards modernization. The nation's firm belief in peaceful development, social harmony, and people's happiness; expressing the aspirations of the 1.3 billion Chinese people to contribute to building a peaceful and better world.
The English slogan "One World One Dream" has a distinctive syntactic structure. The two "One"s form a beautiful parallelism, and "World" and "Dream" echo back and forth. The entire slogan is concise, loud, and profound in meaning. It is easy to remember and easy to spread.
The Chinese slogan "One World, One Dream" expresses "One" as "the same", which makes the theme of "all mankind belong to the same world and all mankind pursue beautiful dreams together" more prominent .
Paralympic Concept: Transcendence, Integration, and Enjoyment
The core of "transcendence" is to surpass oneself and challenge the limits. It embodies the goals of the Olympic Movement of "faster, higher, stronger" and the characteristics of disabled sports; "transcendence" conveys the courage and confidence of disabled athletes to transcend physical obstacles and demonstrates their spirit of self-improvement and tenacious struggle. Style; "transcendence" is also psychological transcendence. It is the appeal of disabled people to abandon prejudice and desire to participate in social life equally. It is the essence of disabled sports.
"Integration" embodies the Olympic values ??of "unity", "peace" and "harmony" and the traditional Chinese concept of "harmony between man and nature". It covers three aspects of integration between people, people and society, and people and nature.
"Full Sharing" embodies the lofty ideal that disabled people and able-bodied people belong to the same world and work together to create a future.
"Full enjoyment" is to allow disabled people and able-bodied people to enjoy equal rights in the Olympic movement and social life, and to enjoy the joy, friendship, dreams and success brought by the Olympic movement under the inspiration of the five-ring flag, * **Enjoy the achievements of social civilization.
Medals
The design creativity and shape of the Beijing Paralympic medals are in line with the Beijing Olympic medals, reflecting the requirement of "two Olympics are equally exciting" and a perfect interpretation of "One World" The theme of "One Dream".
The design of the jade inlay on the front of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games medals is inspired by the shape of ancient Chinese jade, with the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games emblem in the middle; the color of the jade changes with gold, silver and bronze medals. They are: white jade, green white jade, and green jade. The back of the medal features the emblem of the International Paralympic Committee and the names of the sports, as well as "Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games" in Chinese, English and Braille. The medal hook evolved from the traditional Chinese jade double dragon Pu pattern Huang.
The International Paralympic Committee has strict regulations on the material and identification, weight, size, pattern, etc. of Paralympic medals. The medals for the Paralympic champion and runner-up are made of pure silver, and the championship medal must be plated with no less than 6 grams of pure gold. Beijing Paralympic medals have jade embedded in them. This design not only complies with the relevant regulations of the International Paralympic Committee, but its design creativity and shape also echo the Beijing 2008 Olympic medals, reflecting the equality between able-bodied people and disabled people and mutual respect for each other. Respect, whether it is an Olympic medal or a Paralympic medal, has the same value and supreme honor, and is the best embodiment of "One World, One Dream".