Paralympians rekindle the flame as Games begin
After months of uncertainty, Canadian athletes get chance to chase dreams in Tokyo,
“If the Olympics didn’t go well, it was very possible that we wouldn’t make it here.”
STEPHANIE DIXON CANADA’S CHEF DE MISSION
After a year’s postponement, and major uncertainty about whether they would get off the ground at all, the Tokyo Paralympics opened Tuesday amid a barrage of fireworks and an almost audible sigh of relief.
Judo athlete Priscilla Gagné carried Canada’s flag into National Stadium in the opening ceremony and said there was immense joy in competing again after 19 challenging months amid the COVID-19 global pandemic.
“It’s kind of like that old (Joni Mitchell) song ‘Big Yellow Taxi.’ Don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone,” Gagné said.
While there was fear the Tokyo Olympics would be cancelled amid growing cases of the pandemic in Japan, that fear was cranked up several notches for Paralympic athletes who believed an outbreak during the Olympics would erase their Games entirely.
“We all took a sigh of relief,” said Stephanie Dixon, Canada’s chef de mission. “It was so great to see the COVID measures working at the Olympics, our Canadian delegation performing so well, and getting home safely. It boosted the confidence for all of us.
“If the Olympics didn’t go well, it was very possible that we wouldn’t make it here. It was great to see how well the Olympics seemed to be received around the world, as well. And now our athletes are really pumped up and hoping to carry that momentum forward.”
Andrew Parsons, president of the International Paralympic Committee, said in opening the Games: “I can’t believe we’re finally here. Many doubted this would ever happen … The most transformative sports event is about to begin.”
Gagné, a 35-year-old from Sarnia, Ont., led a tiny contingent of less than half a dozen Canadians, clad in red jackets and white jeans, into National Stadium, a sign of the cautious times in which these Games are being held. The majority of the athletes watched the ceremony unfold in a Canadian team outdoor viewing party back at the athletes village.
“We have lots of athletes who are immunocompromised,” Dixon said, “and we just want to take every possible precaution to make sure that we can keep our Canadian athletes safe, and athletes from the other countries as well.”
Gagné, who has retinitis pigmentosa, a visual impairment, had training partner and guide Laurie Wiltshire carry the flag alongside her Tuesday in a ceremony set to a theme of “We Have Wings.”
The six-member Refugee Paralympic Team was the first to parade into a stadium that, like the Olympics, had no fans to welcome the athletes and only media and volunteers lining their route.
The 16th Paralympics will see some 4,400 athletes from 162 countries compete in 22 sports over 12 days of competition.
“To have 162 (teams) compete in Tokyo makes me extremely proud,” Parsons said. “The last 18 months have been the most challenging yet for everyone involved in the Paralympic movement.”
Five countries are making their Paralympic debut: Bhutan, Grenada, Maldives, Paraguay, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
More than 20 countries withdrew from Tokyo, however, for various reasons, including four countries — Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu — that encountered travel issues around the pandemic. Afghanistan was the most notable absence, forced to pull its two athletes after the recent Taliban takeover. In a message of solidarity the IPC included the Afghanistan flag in Tuesday’s parade of nations.