As the streets of the hosting city begin to empty of fans and the world's

media as the Olympic Games draw to a close, it will not be until 2 or 3 weeks

later that the world's best disabled athletes — many of whom have overcome

medical difficulties and shocking family tragedies to represent their country —

will gather in the same stadiums to compete in the Paralympics. Once there, the

competitors will receive far less exposure and recognition than their

able-bodied counterparts.

If we look back at the

Rio Games, many qualifying Paralympic athletes even missed the 11-day event, as

organisers have failed to hand over promised travel grants to competitors from

over 50 countries (source : Bloomberg). $8 million (£6 million) of the

money reserved for the Paralympics were reportedly used to pay for last-minute

construction crises at the Olympic village and the diving pool (source : The

Guardian reports).

Some leading

Paralympians, including six-time gold medalist David Weir, have previously

suggested combining disabled and non-disabled events in athletics competitions

to increase the exposure of disabled athletes.

The President of the

International Paralympic Committee, Sir Philip Craven, has also entertained the

idea of merging the events. "It's really a logistical problem at the

moment but I'm not dead against the idea, in principle, of [the Olympics and

the Paralympics] coming together at some time,'" he told the BBC. 

Ryan Raghoo, the

British long jump record holder for his T36 disability category, told Business

Insider that combining the two events could be an opportunity to give disabled

athletes the same status, media exposure, and sponsorship opportunities as

Olympic athletes. "I've got Paralympian friends who are world record

holders and gold medalists across events and they're not household names,"

Raghoo said. "The same value is not given to the same achievement."

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The Paralympics take place

Olympians and Paralympians :

Which is FALSE?

In what sport has it been suggested to let all athletes compete in the same event (each in their own class, of course!)?

Explain: "They are not household names":

VOCABULARY:

organizing an event = an event

an athlete with a handicap or impairment is a athlete

come/put/bring together =

an athlete with no impairment or disability is an athlete

making one from two or more elements =

a success / an accomplishment = an

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