“Are you disabled or athletes?” (Olga Gromova, senior coach of the Paralympic team).
They dreamed of winning in Beijing, but they were kicked out. How the athletes of the Russian Paralympic team survived such a blow you can see on the video. And I will tell you another story.
When you look at a person with no legs or arms, you can feel sympathy: why did he have to suffer that fate! But disabled athletes don’t need pity at all. These people are healthier than some of us healthy people. Every day, without weekends, they go in for sports, live from competition to competition, have their own apartments and cars, get eight gold medals per competition, and constantly flicker in the public eye.
The discipline and upbringing of their coaches does not go away. Olga Ivanovna Gromova is a great woman-coach. Her energy is enough for the whole world, all the athletes are her children, and she supports everyone. The guys are exhausted, the coach, too, but it is on her responsibility to motivate the team to work further, especially after they barely managed to come to Beijing, they were turned back home.
The Paralympic team is a family. With its own troubles and joys, a small world in a big world, kind, shy and very responsive people.
They are an example to be admired!
