Olympic Games Tokyo 2020ish

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larkim Sep 2021 9:00am, 2 Sep 2021 15,301 posts	0 larkim Perhaps I'm not sufficiently close to the sport to get a feel for how dominant she is or how that impacts the competetiveness of the classifications she takes part in. It's also possibly reductive reasoning on my part; just because she is capable of competing against the very best able bodied athletes shouldn't, on reflection, exclude her from para competition. I need to get my head out of para competition being there as a lower standard hurdle to accommodate athletes with disabilities; that's not the intention is it? Her history with para sport is long isn't it, as she started as a para swimmer and only discovered her cycling talent later.
swittle Sep 2021 9:09am, 2 Sep 2021 78,972 posts	0 swittle [The move from swimming to cycling is believed to have resulted from Storey acquiring chronic fatigue syndrome, a symptom of which was a chronic ear infection. In spite of this, she swam in 2 more Paralympic Games, '00 and '04, gaining medals. en.wikipedia.org ]
larkim Sep 2021 9:22am, 2 Sep 2021 15,302 posts	0 larkim Thanks Switts, hadn't spotted that in the wiki page.
um Sep 2021 9:23am, 2 Sep 2021 5,104 posts	0 um larkim - I think it's fine to ask questions like that - in the right context and language. I've become a lot more aware in the last few months. There has been a history of 'cheating' (fudging the amount of impairment) and any sport with classifications tend to favour those near the 'right' side of the definition, with imbalance for those just on the wrong side. So all the athletes do get fairly rigorous checks these days. But I think it's fine for athletes to choose their best option within those rules. previous attempts to balance things out better (maybe like the percentage allowance in some sports) seem to move the imbalance around rather than solve it. Some sports, like goalball and football, make it easy. Blindfolds for all. (except the referees!). Sophie, my daughter, along with other visually impaired cyclists gets some benefit from limited visibility over those completely blind. But (eg) in the tandem cycling, there's the possibility of suspicion that the trick is to get the best pilot possible. As if. But it still then needs the partnership, trust and co-ordination between the 2. And as I've seen, the organising bodies (eg British Cycling) are just as full on professional (and indeed the same org) as the 'full' version. And yes, the 'selection pool' is smaller ... but you can always find the really niche sports in the main Olympics that probably have less WW participants than some of the 'mainstream' para sports.
swittle Sep 2021 9:25am, 2 Sep 2021 78,975 posts	0 swittle Helpful & informative. ^
um Sep 2021 9:33am, 2 Sep 2021 5,105 posts	0 um Although being aware of the 'stuff' given to Olympic athletes (clothing, kit, luggage etc), stuff won, host country gifts (duvets, origami, mascots etc), I wonder how Dame Storey manages to get in her house. Or has she sold it all on ebay? included opening and closing ceremony specific clothing. That because she was never going to attend is still at home in Honiton. Might have been embarrassing if she suddenly got the call to attend for some reason. And the Apprentice like 'bags' - although in this case with the medal ceremony clothing that (at least GB) entrants have to take to each event, in case they medal. Or carry back unused, dejectedly, if they don't.
swittle Sep 2021 9:37am, 2 Sep 2021 78,977 posts	0 swittle Her partner and daughter joined Sarah by video link on BBC Breakfast about an hour ago - it was a delightful 'meeting' - and Paris was not ruled out...
Pothunter Sep 2021 9:40am, 2 Sep 2021 4,673 posts	0 Pothunter With “only” 3 years to go to Paris I wonder how many Olympians who may have otherwise retired will push on.
swittle Sep 2021 9:42am, 2 Sep 2021 78,978 posts	0 swittle Interesting point - Barney Storey picked up on this and implied that any 'down' or recovery time would be much reduced, as the build up rolled ahead.
Oscar the Grouch Sep 2021 9:49am, 2 Sep 2021 3,461 posts	0 Oscar the Grouch Interesting topic of discussion for those of us who don't understand the different categories and impairments. Thank you.