Sunday 18 September 2016

The Paralympics Lesson In Allyship


By Shane Thomas

I'm sure you've heard of the African aphorism (used to the point of such cliche that one sometimes questions its origins), "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." Well, in the Paralympics, get you an athlete who can do both.

One of the standout events of the athletics portion of the Games are the T11 (visually impaired) sprints, where the sprinter in question is attached (normally by the wrist) to a guide, who is there to offset the sprinters lack of sight.


While the natural speed of the athlete is crucial, of equal importance is the way they collaborate with their guide. It was meant as a flippant joke, but Channel 4's The Last Leg has a point when they quipped that you couldn't attach Usain Bolt to a toddler and expect it to win T11 races...

Read the rest of the piece at Media Diversified.

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