WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

Javier Aguado

Whilst not wishing to, we have to look back to 1992, that magical year in which all eyes were on BARCELONA, a city overlooking the "Mare Nostrum" that committed itself fully to Olympic and Paralympic sport. All those who, in one way or another, were involved in the organization of both events - from the top director right down to the most willing volunteer - rose to the occasion, but for one very simple reason : THEY BELIEVED IN WHAT THEY WERE DOING. This is precisely what was lacking amongst the organizers in ATLANTA and was their undoing. They never believed that organizing the PARALYMPICS was a much more serous undertaking than it appeared and the results are there for all to see. The only ones who made the grade were the athletes who, thanks to their effort, throughout 15 intense days, their determination, their desire to struggle to surpass themselves, managed to overcome all the "mental barriers" others had placed in their way.

SOME QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED

How is it possible that some teams had to wait for more than six hours to get their credentials, some examples being Australia, Portugal, Spain, New Zealand, France etc. etc.?

Do the athletes not deserve a fitting medal-presentation ceremony?

How do you explain that an Olympic Stadium, of enormous dimensions, could be half-empty - with twenty people to be precise, including members of the Spanish Royal Family?

Who was/were responsible for the delay in announcing the results of the different events?

Why were there such long queues in the canteens?

Why did the team of drivers of the transport fleet get lost before they reached their destination?

Why does the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) persist in confronting the different International Federations for disabled sports?

These and other questions will remain unanswered in the bottom drawer of forgotten matters. They will be stored in the files of ignorance of the directors of the ATLANTA '96 Paralympic Games, because the sands of time wipe everything out, but we still hope that the organizers of SYDNEY 2000 will have taken heed of "what should never be done" and "what can be avoided", when some anomaly can be foreseen.

THE TRUE PROTAGONISTS

Some people might feel that these lines have been written with a desire for revenge. They would be mistaken. This competition will not go down in history, evidently, for the expertise and good work of the organizers. But - and we shall not tire of repeating it - those who truly have written a glorious chapter are the athletes, who in the end became the true protagonists of a marvellous piece of sporting history spread out over 15 extraordinary days.

Naming all those who, in one way or another, have contributed to this success would prove impossible given the limits of this report. Nevertheless, we are going to take the liberty of reflecting, insofar as is possible, some of the most emotional moments that have stuck in the memory of those of us who have been enjoying and suffering events in ATLANTA.

If we begin this brief summary from the moment of the opening ceremony, we find ourselves with a display of flashing cameras difficult to forget. In fact, the image of the athletes parading in an Olympic stadium that, whilst not completely full, reflected a certain impression of public participation that was not to be repeated on the days to come.

Throughout the days of competition there exist an infinity of snapshots recorded in our memory, and yet equally difficult to reproduce. Whilst there are some instances such as the semi-final of the 200 metres in which the Spanish athlete, PURIFICACIóN SANTAMARTA, broke her own world record and yet her expression was not exactly one of joy: "I did not come to ATLANTA to win medals; I came to beat my previous best", she declared to the trackside media. These could be the two sides of a coin that did not fall with equal fortune for everyone, as JAVIER CONDE did not even have time to raise his arms in triumph when he finished the marathon, practically exhausted.

We obviously cannot forget the Australian Wheelchair Basketball team who finally managed to beat the "clockwork orange" (HOLLAND) and, above all, the moment when their player DAVID GOULD, number 6 and double amputee, was lifted up by his teammates to cut the net of the basket.

But the set of images that will possibly take longer to forget is that of the English judoka SIMON JACKSON who, once again, was the only Paralympic athlete to win all his combats. All the specialists consulted are of the opinion that he is an exception. In fact, the British Olympic team is trying to rope him into their ranks for the forthcoming SYDNEY 2000 games. He still has not made up his mind.

One final impression that also proves indelible is that of the American TRISCHA ZORN, best female swimmer of all time, now past her sporting peak. Her tears and gaze fixed on the American flag as the national anthem was playing, caused the very foundations of the Georgia University Aquatic Centre to tremble with emotion.

We really must make one last mention of the great work done - once again - by the volunteers, who, had they been better administered, would have worked much more effectively. In any case, we witnessed many examples of boys and girls, of all ages, making every effort to ensure that everything appeared normal and not at all chaotic. It must be admitted that, on many occasions, they fell victim to the limited patience of many visitors.

... AND WHAT ABOUT SYDNEY?

This is the 64 thousand dollar question. This is what all of us who were in ATLANTA asked ourselves as soon as we arrived home. The "hard sell" of the expectations presented on American soil boded well. Nevertheless, the news hit the teletypes one month after the end of these Games: the President of the organizing Committee for the SYDNEY 2000 Olympic Games had presented his resignation to the government, for reasons of incompatibility between the objectives he had proposed and those of the Australian leaders.

We must not panic; there are still four years left and we have a long way to go yet. We must, however, be on our guard, particularly with respect to the direction the relationship between the IPC and the Federations is going to take, following the deterioration evident in the Atlanta meetings.

Anyway, there can be no doubt that disabled sport is increasingly more highly valued. And our athletes know it.