London 2012 Paralympic
Games and judo – What was it like?
If you want a throw by throw account
with full details of perfect judo, you ain't going to find it here!
I will tell you what it felt like to be
in the crowd at the Excel Centre at the judo in the London 2012
Paralympics.
And because we don't live in a bubble,
you'll also get an idea of what people thought of paralympic sport as
the events kicked off in London and the UK.
Setting the scene
You probably saw a fair amount of TV
coverage of the London 2012 Olympics.
It went well. Very well.
When the Paralympics kicked off, it
felt like the London 2012 party had re-started and people wanted to
get back to it so tickets were selling out. Something that had never
happened before!
These games were SO not an
afterthought.
And as if to underline that fact the
Paralympics even had their own 'What the Flip' (WTF) moment in the
Opening Ceremony...
You may have seen James Bond and Her
Majesty the Queen chatting together then skydiving into the Olympic
Opening Ceremony (as one does).
Well that moment made me say 'WTF' and
the Paralympics Opening Ceremony was not to be outdone either.
After some spectacular events revolving
around Shakespeare's Tempest and being enlightened through learning,
the Ceremony took on the subject of disabled people fighting for
their rights in the face of unenlightened people.
The sight of a group of disabled actors
singing the protest song 'Spasticus Autisticus' left me stunned.
The song (banned by the BBC for years)
and written by the disabled musician Ian Dury, had words which took
on the abuse thrown at disabled people and it threw it right back.
This song was about getting 'it'.
And just what was 'it'?
That disabled people are capable of
achieving pretty much anything they put their minds to.
Which brings us to Paralympic judo.
As I said, I don't do play by play
commentary.
Instead here are some views about going
to see the 'gentle way' at the Paralympics.
In no particular order, memories of the
day went like this:
* Going into the security line with a
disabled family member and being remembered by one of the security
people who had frisked us several weeks before at the Olympics!
* Couldn't believe how friendly the
security people (civilian and military) and volunteers or 'games
makers' were.
* Heading into the Excel Centre and
being able to attend other events in the building (powerlifting,
table tennis and seated volleyball) – Perhaps a legacy of
Paralympics games past where organisers struggled to fill venues?
* No problems of venue filling at
London 2012 Paralympics – Table tennis was full to capacity and we
only just got into the powerlifting crowd.
* Getting into the judo venue realising
that it was exactly the same as for the Olympics but with some major
differences.
The crowd were different for a start...
I'm not saying the Paralympics audience
were a tough crowd but when British judoka Sam Ingram walked on to
fight in the gold medal final, a couple of youngsters were shouting
'Go on Sam, rip his head off'!
Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a brutal
atmosphere.
Rather, it was good natured and more
informal than the Olympics.
Added to this, the crowd got behind all
judoka, from Chinese to Cuban and all points in between.
It gave me as much pleasure to see
foreign judoka applauded and cheered on as the local athletes.
Imagine row after row of temporary fold
up seating and hundreds of people banging their feet to 'We will rock
you' by the rock group Queen and that was just when the judoka
entered to fight!
This got pumped this up to 11 when the
British judoka were introduced.
On the day I was there, the Ingram
brothers (Joe and Sam) were fighting for medals and Sam went on to
the gold medal final.
Both brothers were born with conal
dystrophy. They have monochromatic vision and are officially
registered blind.
The sound that greeted them must have
been awe inspiring and I read in an interview with Sam that the Union
Jack (British flag) is more visible than others with its colour and
outline.
Again the quantity and size of flags
must have made a great impression on both brothers.
As it transpired, after a very hard
fought fight, Sam lost out to the Cuban judoka and it was great to
see the Cuban get applauded when he stood on the podium for his gold
medal.
The roof was raised however when Sam
was presented with his silver!
It's at this point where I have to say
I really enjoyed the judo at the Paralympics.
There was hardly any fighting for grip
(which I appreciated very much) and a lot more groundwork (ne waza)
than the Olympics, it was really enjoyable to watch.
Also appreciated the informality where
judoka who had finished in their weight class came up to our section
in the stands and greeted each other as friends.
Add to that the informality and roars
of support from the crowd, you begin to realise just how special this
day had been.
I also got involved in explaining
competition rules, referees' signals and the finer points of judo to
other crowd members, it all had that level of informality.
So, coming to the end of the day and
this article, if I may I would like to finish with two points, one
big and one tiny and insignificant.
As for the bigger picture, the
Paralympic movement was born out of the games for patients which
started after World War II at the Stoke Mandeville spinal injuries
hospital in the United Kingdom.
Coming right up to today with sold out
events, huge TV coverage and support (certainly in the host nation)
one could quite rightly say that the Paralympics at London 2012 had
'come home'.
Seeing disabled athletes doing so well
put the focus on the athletes and their performance and not their
disability.
It was truly inspiring to witness up
close just how remarkable people can be.
So what about the tiny and
insignificant point?
After several weeks going to events at
London 2012, the Paralympics judo was the last time I would go to see
the Games.
Walking past the games makers, the
security, the bright pink (yes!) signage, waiting for that iron door
to close behind us at the security perimeter exit, I became really
sad.
Yet looking back at London 2012 with
all the great performances, the wonderful exuberance and support of
the crowds, the way that disability would not be seen in precisely
the same way ever again and so many other positive things besides, I
started to smile.
Then, a few days later, of all things,
a cat put it better than I ever could...
Or to be more precise, the creator of
'Cat in the Hat', Dr Seuss wrote the following which summed up, for
me, what I felt about London 2012 from that moment on:
'Don't cry because it's over. Smile
because it happened.'
