GOING FOR GOLD – NOW IT’S THE PARALYMPICS
Round one of the 2016 Summer Olympics Games is over. Now it’s on to round two – the Summer Paralympics, which have been a happy hunting ground for Kiwis. Keith Sharp reports.
For most sports fans, watching the Olympic Games is exciting enough. For Paralympians and their supporters, however, it is just the warm-up to their own main event.
Paralympics NZ chief executive Fiona Allan has been through this many times before with four summer and winter Games under her belt, starting with Beijing in 2008. Paralympians like to feel that by the time their own event begins, all the issues with the venues have been ironed out.
Now it’s time for the business end of their own campaigns.
“Seeing the venues, it makes it all very real for us in a few weeks’ time,” says Allan. “In some ways, it gives you a sense of comfort that the Olympic Games are taking place before the Paralympics.”
She and her colleagues will also take comfort from the fact that London 2012 was a runaway success for Kiwi Paralympians, with a tally of 17 medals, including six gold, seven silver, and four bronze. Swimmer Sophie Pascoe was the star of that team, taking three gold and three silver medals.
The team success has prompted Paralympics NZ to set an even more ambitious target for
this year of 18 medals, including 12 gold.
“The team is at 29 (athletes) at the moment,” says Allan.
“We are aware with the recent IPC decisions on the Russian para-athletes not participating at the Paralympic Games, that the IPC may look at redistributing some of the allocated slots to nations, too.”
A question on who she would pick for her best medal bets draws a laugh.
“That’s really hard,” she says. “We’ve got a really talented group of athletes. Para-athletics has eight athletes. It’s the second-largest team we have had since 2000. Six of the athletes are ranked in the top six in the world (in their
events). And we have three number ones in that team. Cycling – a team of seven, and the ones to watch are Emma Foy and Laura Thompson, who are triple world champions. And then Paralympian Kate Horan. She has switched from silver medal in Beijing in the 100m to the cycling, so it will be interesting to see how that transition works out for her.” There is one crew in the para-sailing, and that includes America’s Cup sailor and multiple world champion Rick Dodson, plus double Paralympian Andrew May and Chris Sharp. In the shooting, Michael Johnson, current gold medallist and world number one, is at his fourth Paralympics Games. “But the majority of New Zealand success will likely come in the pool,” says Fiona, “with the para-swimming team who, between them, hold a staggering nine Paralympic titles, 22 world titles and 10 long-course records.” But even as the 2016 team gets into gear, Paralympics NZ is already looking to the future. “Planning is already in place for the 2018 winter Paralympics in South Korea and the Tokyo summer Paralympics in 2020,” says Allan. “Rio is now for us all planned out and ready and we’re just looking forward to watching our athletes perform.”