SHOW RESPECT
GB hero Peacock tells other nations to shape up
JONNIE PEACOCK has urged Brazil and the USA to follow the lead of Great Britain and show more respect to Paralympic athletes. The sprinter, who defended his T44 100 metre title in fine style, did so in front of a stadium less than a quarter full in marked contrast to the 80,000 who chanted his name inside the Olympic Stadium before he raced at London 2012.
He also had a long journey in heavy traffic to reach the stadium because ‘Games lanes’ which had been exclusively reserved for vehicles transporting athletes, officials and media during last month’s Olympics were disbanded before the Paralympics started.
‘It was a lot easier for me in London,’ he said, ‘I had home comforts and everyone speaks your language. But here there are the long travels, the non-use of Games lanes, which I think is absolutely ridiculous.
‘Luckily, it didn’t rain because I’ve been told if it rains the whole city comes to a standstill. If that happens they need to reopen the lanes because that’s ridiculously unfair on all the athletes. You would never get London doing that and I think that speaks volumes about the Paralympics and the respect we hold for it. It was born in Stoke Mandeville and we will have that forever in our hearts.
‘We lead the way in Paralympic sport. The system we have with the best coaches, medical support and lottery funding is amazing, and that’s what I want other countries to have.
‘I wanted these Games to make the Paralympics huge in South America and North America. The American TV network NBC paid billions to put the Olympics on and made athletes compete at midnight (to suit their TV schedules) but I can’t find any live coverage to show my coach Dan Pfaff who’s in the USA. I had to send him a video on Facebook.’
Peacock streaked to victory in a Paralympic record time of 10.81 seconds with Liam Malone of New Zealand taking silver in 11.02. American Jarryd Wallace, who had been expected to push the Briton to the line, faded to finish fifth.
Peacock, 23, praised his mother Linda for being a constant source of support during his career, but said his father, Christopher, was also an important influence during his wayward early teenage years.
‘I was bit of a terror with my mum,’ said Peacock. ‘She never liked to be too hard with me so my dad brought me into line. He taught me about dedication and responsibilities and I feel I got the best of both worlds.’