Twenty-third International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

The Paralympics (Summer + Winter) are the pinnacle of sports excellence for athletes with a variety of physical disabilities. The first Paralympic Games took place in Rome in 1960 with 400 athletes from 23 countries. Since then, every four years following the Olympic Summer Games, the Paralympics take place. As the years progressed, more and more athletes participated but the world WASN’T watching. While television brought hours and hours of Olympic coverage to households around the world, the Paralympics got a few small stories in newspapers and the odd highlight package on TV. But when London, England got the rights to the Games in 2012…things changed. The Organizing Committee decided to make a commitment to bring 580 hours of game coverage via the internet and more broadcasting partners promised to air more hours on television than ever before. It was a record breaking moment! The athletes were superheroes with superpowers and their stories were compelling, engaging and inspiring! Words like handicapped, disabled and physically challenged seem ridiculous to use when describing these athletes and their ABILITIES!