Full speed ahead

Great photo, such intensity of effort! Why the sunglasses? Is it function or fashion?

Obviously she needs the guide, but I wonder if being tethered lessens her time. In other words, would she be significantly faster without him? Being a runner myself, I would have to think so.

Yeah, she might be faster without but maybe he's fast too? Good picture and good for her for going out for it.

What a great photo! The guides job I'm guessing would be to run so in sync with her that the tether doesn't affect her one bit in relation to slower her down at all. His job also would be one of the most overlooked jobs in sport. A super photo.

Definitely has to be a knack to sprinting whilst tied to someone... . Huge admiration for all Olympians and would love to be there to watch.

Its a shame that the paralympics are not covered as much as the normal olympics. What these people can do, even with a disability is absolutely incredible and deserves nothing but admiration and respect.

Its a shame that the paralympics are not covered as much as the normal olympics

That's capitalism for you.

Why are the fantastic London 2012 Paralympics not being given the same coverage on Japanese TV as the London 2012 Olympics? The athletes train just as hard and the games are just as competitive and fun to watch...

As the 100 meter does not involve anything but a straight bit of track could they not run unaided in lanes twice as wide? As it is the partner uses an extra lane anyway.

Why are the fantastic London 2012 Paralympics not being given the same coverage on Japanese TV as the London 2012 Olympics?

That's the sad part of coverage of the Paralympics the world over. In the U.S., NBC has issued a statement that it comes down to sponsorship. The sad thing is that no one wants to dish out the money to air these events. Only stations like NHK and the BBC have been showing events. Luckily, I've been able to witness some great events like boccia. There was a great side story on NHK about a woman with cerebal palsy who has an extreme amount of love and support from her assistant which happens to be her younger brother during the boccia event. Japan made it to the quarterfinals by beating Spain, but lost to Portugal 10-2. Learned a lot more about the sport. Also, got to see some great wheelchair basketball and goalball matches. The 200 meter race in track and field was thrilling with the Brazilian Oliveira coming from behind to beat Pistorius. I'm not sure if I would've been able to see that on any private TV station.

fantastic. Lots of coverage on the official site:

http://www.paralympic.org/

In the U.K Channel 4 have staged a grand coup by airing the Paralympics live everyday from morning til night. They even have a great comedy highlights show hosted by a disabled comedian, with Paralympic guests who spend the evening cracking fun at each other whilst reviewing the highlights. Most of the viewing public have said that the Paralympic events have been more exciting and much more inspiring than the Olympics. Globally, channels such as NHK and NBC have missed a great opportunity and the Japanese broadcasters have been particularly poor, as there have been many Japanese athletes live on British tv. I guess the Japanese broadcasters prefer the glamour girl/ unfunny comedians format.

Being a guide looks pretty tough, as you have to run just as fast, if not faster then the person competing. All worthy of Regular Olympic gold in my opinion.

Why the sunglasses? Is it function or fashion?

Function for both the guide and the competitor, but for different reasons. For the guide, the sun appears to be low on the horizon when this photo was taken. For the competitor, besides the fact that the person could be staring right at the sun and not know it, a lack of sight doesn't mean a bug in the eyeball while running will not hurt just as much as it would for a sighted person. Plus they can't use the warning that sight gives to close the eyes right before the bug hits.

In the U.K Channel 4 have staged a grand coup by airing the Paralympics live everyday from morning til night.

Good point. I'm so glad that public stations such as the BBC and NHK have been showing great events from the Paralympics. It's too bad that other stations like NBC in the U.S. can't do the same. These games have truly been inspiring. I've been enjoying events like the track and field races (as in the picture above) where athletes in different categories, such as being legally blind, having no legs, to being a paraplegic.