Pascoe can lift the gloom
The Paralympic star was an inspired choice as flagbearer for the Commonwealth Games. Kevin Norquay explains why.
Sophie Pascoe, Commonwealth Games flagbearer, yet a symbol of so much more. All flagbearers are inspirational sporting leaders. Pascoe flag-waves ‘‘beacon of hope’’ as a desirable upgrade.
And somewhere on the list of what Sophie Pascoe is, after elite athlete, and world class swimmer, comes the word disabled. So low on the list, you average Kiwi sports fan might have to remind themselves, ‘‘oh yeah, she has only one leg’’.
And that’s why having Pascoe as flagbearer for last night’s opening ceremony was so special. All hail chef de mission Rob Waddell for an inspired and inclusive choice.
At the head of the New Zealand team, Pascoe epitomise what ‘‘her’’ team values. And in a time of drug cheating, cricket ball sandpapering, sledging and diving to win penalties, they are values that appear to be more in keeping with a simpler, less money-grasping era.
Since Pascoe, 25, splashed into the public eye at the 2008 Paralympics, she has changed perceptions about what is possible, even when your life is railroaded down an unintended siding. Her leg was lost to a lawnmowing accident when she was a toddler.
At one end of the pool, she pioneered a perception shift, with many New Zealanders now shifting her and her growing number of sporting colleagues from the category of ‘‘disabled athletes’’, to simply ‘‘athletes’’.
At the other end of the same watery lane, she has given members of the disabled community her hope, that most precious commodity.
So often the arrival of disability has crushed hope; even medal-winning Paralympians such as sprinter Liam Malone and skier Corey Peters once went to dark places in their minds. It’s a long way from where they were to where they got to.
Over a decade, Pascoe has raised the profile of paralympic sport. She inspired people to get off the sofa, to be more than they thought they could.
She helped open up acceptance of the whole concept of paralympic sports, a place offering a road back to elite sport, the chance to compete at the highest level, and a community of comradeship.
‘‘To be classed as just another athlete, not a para-athlete, that’s probably the biggest thing, um, I can take away . . . sorry,’’ Pascoe said when she was named team leader on Tuesday. Her voice broke, she continued ‘‘from carrying the flag out’’.
Share the Dream is the motto of these ‘‘Friendly Games’’. Can there have ever been a New Zealand flagbearer who has afforded more budding athletes the chance to dream, no matter what.
Doubt it.