The Paralympics written by Melissa Thomson
Six players, three from each team, are all set to go. Tweet! A whistle blows. Bells ring as a ball whizzes past an athlete. The goalball game has begun.
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A player from the other team throws the ball hard. It rushes for Team USA’s goal. Whack! A Team USA player blocks the shot. The ball sails back to the other side. Team USA’s goal is safe for the moment. But in the stands, the fans do not cheer. They want to! But goalball fans must stay silent while the ball is in play.
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This sport is just for athletes who are fully or partly blind. They cannot see the ball, so they must hear it. In goalball, small bells inside the ball help athletes keep track of where it is. Back and forth the ball whizzes. Then, Team USA aims a hard shot at the All goalball athletes wear blindfolds during the game. This rule makes the game
other goal. Their foes dive to block it . . .
fair, since athletes may have different degrees of vision impairment.
Goal! A point for Team USA! Tweet! Now, the fans can erupt with joy. 5
Goalball is one of nearly 30 sports in the Paralympic Games. The games are sports contests for the top athletes with disabilities. The Paralympics are one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
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The Paralympic Games happen every four years alongside, or parallel to, the Olympic Games. In fact, the term Paralympic comes from parallel.
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Adaptive sports are designed so that athletes 8
with any disability can play or compete.
The Paralympic Games are similar to the Olympic Games in many ways. They both hold games in the summer and winter. These major events take place in the same locations. They include the top athletes from all over the world. In both games, athletes use equipment that helps them perform their best. In many Paralympic sports, equipment is designed to work with athletes’ disabilities.
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In Para ice hockey, often called sled hockey, athletes use shortened hockey sticks with sharp picks on the end to push off the ice.
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In some Paralympic sports, all athletes use the same type of equipment. In wheelchair basketball, athletes must use their upper-body strength and skill to compete. Hockey players sit in sleds on top of hockey skate blades. They use their sticks to push and speed up—or to slam the puck into the net. Goal!
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In other sports, the equipment or supports depend on the athletes’ disabilities. Athletes who are missing arms, legs, hands, or feet may have prosthetic body parts.
Prosthetic limbs for Paralympic athletes are designed for performance, not looks. Most are made of carbon fiber, 12
which is a very light and strong material.
Athletes who are fully blind may have an aide, or guide. In running events, a guide and athlete stay connected with a short rope. Guides tell runners how much farther they must go and whether something is blocking their path.
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Each thrilling sport in the Paralympics has its own rules, equipment, and path to victory. But they all have one thing in common: They star the best of the best. 14