GOING FOR THE GOLD IN ATLANTA : PARALYMPICS SWIMMER AIMS TO BE NOTED FOR ABILITY, NOT DISABILITY.Byline: Dennis McCarthy Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
There were 55,000 people in the stands for the opening ceremonies of the Paralympic Games Par·a·lym·pic Games pl.n. An international competition for athletes with disabilities. [para-1 + (O)lympic. in 1992 as Karen Norris walked into the Barcelona stadium with her physically disabled U.S. teammates - each of them proudly carrying an American flag as they waved to the cheering, appreciative crowds. There was a three-hour wait in line for tickets a few days later as the Van Nuys resident prepared to swim the first of six events she was entered in as a member of the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. Paralympics Swim Team. Wherever she and her teammates went in Barcelona, they were recognized and stopped on the street, the talk always centering on their times, their swim strokes - never on their physical disability. ``In Europe you're considered an athlete. They don't care
"Don't Care" is a 1994 (see 1994 in music) single by American death metal band Obituary. if you're missing a body part or not,'' Norris said Friday, preparing to work out in the Pierce College In 2006 the Library won a national Excellence award. Academics Pierce College offers associate's degrees, mainly in the arts and sciences. There are also certificate programs in early childhood education, social services, dental hygienist, and others. pool in preparation for this year's Paralympic Games, which will be held in Atlanta two weeks after the Olympic Games Olympic games, premier athletic meeting of ancient Greece, and, in modern times, series of international sports contests. The Olympics of Ancient Greece Although records cannot verify games earlier than 776 B.C. . There is no malice in the words, only a frustrated reality that comes from knowing that when she and her teammates enter Atlanta Olympic Stadium The Olympic Stadium is the name usually given to the big centrepiece stadium of the Summer Olympic Games. Traditionally, the opening and closing ceremonies and the track & field competitions are held in the Olympic Stadium. on Aug. 15 for opening ceremonies, they'll be lucky to look up and see a fraction of the crowd that cheered them in Barcelona. They'll be lucky if a few hundred people, excluding relatives, show up the next day to watch them swim against disabled athletes from all over the world. That's the way it is in this country, where we tend to respect the physically disabled athlete for his or her courage and guts, but not necessarily for the individual's athletic ability. If we did, Karen says, this story would be on the sports page Noun 1. sports page - any page in the sports section of a newspaper page - one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains with other stories of Olympic athletes preparing for the Games. There should be no difference. Instead, it's on a news page - a human interest story about a girl who lost her left leg below the knee to cancer at age 11, yet fought back to accomplish wonderful things in sports, including one gold and one bronze medal at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympic Games. ``Before I left for the Barcelona Games, people were telling me it was going to be the experience of a lifetime,'' said Norris, the valedictorian at Calabasas High in 1983 before moving on to UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX where she graduated summa cum laude sum·ma cum lau·de adv. & adj. With the greatest honor. Used to express the highest academic distinction: graduated summa cum laude; a summa cum laude graduate. with a degree in mathematics. ``I thought to myself that I had a whole lifetime ahead of me, how could this be the best experience of it? But they were right. It was incredible the way the people treated us as world-class athletes, looking past our disabilities. ``I suffered depression for six months after coming home because it was such a high,'' said Norris, the world's second-ranked Paralympic swimmer in the 100-meter backstroke. Now it is four years later, and she is on another high as she prepares for Atlanta. Karen knows that at age 31, this will most likely be her last hurrah as a world-class swimmer. The clock will likely have passed her by when the next Paralympic Games roll around at the turn of the century in Australia. The competition is getting younger and stronger. But instead of dreading looking over her shoulder as more and more disabled athletes come after her spot on the U.S. team, she cherishes it. It means more and more of them are trying - putting their physical disability second to their athletic drive and ability. She knows that somewhere in the country right now, there is a young girl with one leg practicing in a pool like she is today - cutting through the water with the grace of dolphins, and dreaming of Paralympic gold. Who knows? Maybe by the turn of the century, Americans, like the Europeans, will finally wake up and see her and her teammates for what they really are: World-class athletes, and not just human interest stories. MEMO: Dennis McCarthy's column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1) Karen Norris works out at Pierce College for t he Paralympics in Atlanta, two weeks after the Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event held every four years, organised by the International Olympic Committee. . (2) Karen Norris Athlete in the Paralympic Games Evan Yee/Daily News |
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