Disabled athletes are arriving in Greece from all over the world to compete in the Paralympic Games which are held from the 18-28 September 2004.

Curiously, Deaf athletes are excluded from this event for reasons of culture and ability. However, the deaf can compete in the Deaflympics.

‘Boosting’ is a phenomenon whereby athletes with spinal cord injuries attempt to raise their blood pressure, causing their body to also rise to an unnaturally high state of stimulation. This leads to a kind of ‘fight or flight’ mentality which is ideal for physical competition.

Some boosting techniques include sitting on ball bearings or pins,

tying piano wire around the scrotum and turning off catheters. These methods give paralyzed athletes no pain but cause their sympathetic nervous systems to drive their blood pressure straight up, improving performance by as much as 15%.

I am pleased to see that athletes with a disability can enhance their performances just like any other Olympian.
Equality in action.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 3rd, 2004 at 1:24 pm and is filed under Life; barely possible. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Click to leave a comment.