As competitor or participant, the Paralympians shared in triumph
Curtis McGrath says he was in Paris to compete, not participate, but other Paralympians have a different view. Maybe both are right.
Curtis McGrath indulged in a curious PR exercise prior to his arrival in France. “I won’t be participating at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games,” he wrote on Instagram before allowing enough time for the courtroom to gasp and weep. Injury? Family tragedy? C’est terrible! Then he wrote: “I will be competing.”
I get it. McGrath wasn’t coming to Paris to make up the numbers. And yet it was an interesting stance from the revered ex-solder, double leg amputee and Australian Paralympic captain.
“Paralympians have often been described by media as ‘participants’ and not ‘competitors’,” he added. “At Paris 2024, it’s time we set the record straight.’”
McGrath’s remarks were part of an orchestrated International Paralympic Committee social media campaign to promote the exquisite elite and their hunger for medals. But the majority of Paralympians are simply not good enough to compete for the podium. They view their participation as a triumph. I wonder what they made of the spiel from the IPC?
The Paralympics are a paradox. You have your superstars, swimming in medals, and then you have the rest. The rest are the majority. They take part in invisible heats and preliminary rounds without hope or expectation of advancing further. I find them no more or less inspiring than Lauren Parker, Alexa Leary or McGrath, the all-conquering canoeist who won the KL2 200m gold medal at Vaires-sur-Marne on the weekend.
“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “I’m over the moon. I’m just so proud to execute the results and get the gold medal and defend my championship. It’s a nice feeling. A lot of work went into it. My wife and child are at home supporting me from Australia. They couldn’t make the trip due to (McGrath’s newborn son) wanting to arrive a little bit close to the Games. It’s nice to have them supporting me there. I’m looking forward to seeing them.”
McGrath’s wife, Rachel, was on the Gold Coast with their son, Monty, who needed open heart surgery on the day he was born in July. “Crossing the line I did think about him,” McGrath said. “His and my wife’s names are written on my boat. It’s a nice reminder that they’re along here in spirit with me. I’m not here just to represent Australia, I’m here to represent my family because they mean so much to me and it’s been hard lately. It’s important that I did it for them, too. The goodbye we had on the 10th of August was one of the hardest I’ve ever had to do.”
McGrath lost both legs after stepping on a landmine while on military duty at Afghanistan in 2012. He’s won four gold medals since his Paralympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games. He was scheduled to chase a fifth gold in the 200m VL3 event on Sunday at 8.41pm (AEST).
“We’re just out here doing sport. It’s not actually that important,” he said. “But when we’re representing people and countries and our family members, it means more. It’s special to have this accolade and I’m just proud to represent everyone involved in this Australian team.”
Competitors? Participants? What’s right? What’s wrong? Either? Neither? It brought to mind Australian flagbearer Madison de Rozario’s comments after she won two golds at the Tokyo Games. “We can’t view disability as a positive or a negative. It’s neither of those things,” she said.“It’s neither good nor bad, it just is.”
More recently, de Rozario said: “I don’t want people that look like me to watch the Paralympic Games and want to be a Paralympian. I want young kids with a disability and their families and their friends to watch the Paralympics and just see endless potential in themselves and in kids with a disability. You want to see every person from every kind of walk of life doing anything and everything they want to do. If the only way we decide disability is acceptable is if it’s this high-performing, unattainable goal, then we’re not doing justice to the entire community.”
Bravo to the competitors in Paris. McGrath was sensational. Bravo to the participants. Equally great.
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