The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© 2024 AFPChinese teenager takes 7th gold of Paris Paralympics
PARIS©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© 2024 AFP
6 Comments
Login to comment
theFu
It is a fairness thing. Every day of the regular Olympics there was a metal table updated showing the metals for every country. That didn't happen for the Paralympics. That's all. JT is free to decide what articles will get the most clicks. The coverage of the Paralympics seems to be about 20x less than that of the Olympics. That's all.
I don't really care about China being at the top or bottom or in the middle. It is supposed to be about the athletes, so this story about 1 specific athlete is fantastic.
theFu
I agree. There is a difference. In China, Olympians are paid by the govt to train and compete. Western countries don't do that. There's no govt pay. No govt housing. No govt trainers. Most hold regular jobs or are supported by their friends and family or sponsors. Just paying rent is a challenge.
So, for people who might want to compete in the Paralympics from western countries, they are doing their best to hold down jobs so they can live. That's an Olympic-level effort too, especially if you don't come from a wealthy family.
The USA does have almost 600 Paralympians in Paris. OTOH, China has a much smaller team because they only want to send athletes capable of winning? IDK. Just being in the Paralympics is "winning", just like competing in the Olympics is "winning". Sure, winning is great and the goal, but getting better, every competition is the goal for most athletes. I'm heart broken when I see Chinese and NK athletes get silver. The pressure their govts put on "winning" is scary. If they aren't at their peak levels on the day of competition, their family support and health care for sick parents from the govt can disappear.
Pukey2
Mr Kipling
You could be exceedlingly right, considering the downvotes I got.
Mr Kipling
Good question, maybe because China has DOUBLE the medals of the next country (UK) it isn't shown. Or is it because these games are more about the taking part? Which is quite insulting to those "taking part."
Pukey2
Where's the Paralympic medal table?