Wishing our paralympians every success in medal hunt

The postponed Tokyo 2020 Paralympics finally start today. For those of us privileged enough to have had tickets for the various events at the 2012 London Paralympic Games, they were days we would never forget. Humbling days.

They were days which opened the eyes of many in the ablebodied world in this country to the truly astounding feats of those whose bodies were different.

In Tokyo the Games will award 539 gold medals across 22 sports hosted at 21 venues, featuring more than 4,500 athletes.

Apart from their disabilities, the competitors have had to contend with a pandemic which has delayed the Games for a year, wrecked training schedules and meant that they will compete in empty stadia.

So, it could be argued, anyone who triumphs in the coming days will have done so against even longer odds than usual.

In a period of unprecedented change, fear and uncertainty, it has been a challenge for the athletes. But now they cannot wait for the action to start.

So today we wish the best of luck to all the athletes and competitors from across the wider Portsmouth region who will be carrying the torch for the region for the next nailbiting few days.

We’ll be rooting for you all, whether it’s shooter Lorraine Lambert, sprinter and long jumper Olivia Breen, and triathlete Lauren Steadman, all from Portsmouth, or powerlifter Micky Yule, of Park Gate, and sprinter Dave Henson, of Whiteley.

Lorraine makes an important point when she says: ‘It’s a shame fans aren’t allowed out in Tokyo but Channel 4 has been amazing by doubling the amount of hours they will show on TV so everyone can watch it who can’t be there.’

It was that channel’s groundbreaking coverage of the 2012 London Paralympics which arguably changed people’s perception of these Games. Let’s hope it’s about to do it again.