Most people who watched the 2018 Olympics saw Ester Ledecka upset Anna Veiss in alpine skiing, cheered on American snowboarders Chloe Kim and Red Gerard, and were duly impressed when figure skater Mirai Nagasu became the third woman ever to land a triple axel jump in competition. Lesser known but no less important are the Paralympic Games, which are specifically for physically disabled athletes. While the Olympics represent the very best that the human body can do athletically, the Paralympics showcase the athletic potential of a human body that is often considered to be limited. Many of the athletes compete with prosthetics of various sorts, or simply with missing limbs.
One of the most impressive athletes is Lauren Woolstencroft, a Canadian alpine skier and electrical engineer who was born missing her left arm below the elbow and both legs below her knees. She has racked up eight gold medals in previous years, and she was featured in a Toyota commercial, saying the company’s slogan, “When we’re free to move, anything is possible.” Woolstencroft’s story is, in her own words, one of determination and overcoming the odds. Woolstencroft is living proof of the power of female strength and perseverance. Considering the fact that sports are traditionally considered a male-dominated and able-bodied field, her story is all the more impressive and inspiring.
At the 2014 Sochi Paralympics, snowboarder and double-amputee Amy Purdy took home bronze in snowboard-cross, where four to six athletes with prosthetics race together on a course of bumps and turns. She also finished second on an episode of Dancing with the Stars, and with her husband, founded Adaptive Action Sports, a non-profit that teaches snowboarding and skiing to permanently disabled individuals. She won the bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships, and won silver at PyeongChang.
Not all Paralympic sports are as “high action” as alpine skiing and snowboard cross, but they are no less important in terms of expanding the field of athletics to everyone. The US will compete in wheelchair curling, a co-ed sport. In the two previous Paralympics where the team has competed, no medals were won, and Canada has dominated the podium for three straight Games. However, the U.S. team had a very strong 2017 season, including winning the gold at an international competition that was held in Finland. One of the top female athletes, Penny Greely, who also competes in sitting volleyball, appeared in curling at the 2014 Games. She consistently leads the world championship field in terms of shooting percentage for her position as a lead.
While the Paralympics Games are smaller than the Olympics, their message is no less powerful. The presence of disabled athletes in the world of federated sports competition is important, and helps to open opportunities for disabled athletes around the world. Furthermore, the presence of disabled female athletes adds another layer to the conversation, as women are consistently excluded or grossly underpaid in sports, and face constant societal and governmental regulation of their bodies. The Paralympics and the amazing female athletes help to redefine what it means to be healthy or fit, as well as broadening the scope of what is acceptable for female bodies. The Games diversify the sports world and show that strength comes in many forms.