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It’s Olympic season again. Time for the strongest and fastest, the world record holders, to face off against each other in pursuit of the most coveted sporting medals. The United Kingdom’s Channel 4 News is sending its own team of champions to represent at the Paralympics. This team will be commenting on and presenting the events to viewers across the country. And for the first time, this team will truly represent the athletic determination of the contestants.
The integrative power of sports
Launched in 1948 to allow disabled war veterans to compete, the Paralympics have been a model of inclusivity and representation for 74 years, National Geographic reports.
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The Paralympics were initially the brainchild of Dr. Ludwig Guttman, who worked with patients with spinal injuries. He believed in the power of sports to facilitate, in his words, “the social reintegration of the paralyzed into society.”
The Paralympics began as a yearly event featuring archers in wheelchairs. Every year new sports were added to the lineup.
In 1960, the Olympics Committee took over the project and brought it fully into the mainstream.
Today, nearly 5000 disabled athletes show the world that they can push beyond their physical limits as they compete in the Paralympics.
Channel 4 News’ presenting team
CNN reports, this year’s Paralympics, planned for March 4-13 in Beijing, will represent people with disabilities not just in front of the camera, but behind it as well.
The anchors and pundits for Channel 4’s presenting team will all be, themselves, athletes with disabilities.
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Channel 4 News reports, IPC president Andrew Parsons describes why this decision is a landmark one.
“They are exactly what public sector broadcasting is all about, having the bravery to say: ‘we will be the first to do that’. And this latest landmark decision is important because representation matters. There are over 15 percent of persons in Great Britain with a disability and they should be able to switch on a TV and see wonderfully ordinary persons with disabilities like them in front of the camera. This is change starting with sport.”
Meet the All-Stars
The presenting team is uniquely qualified to represent at the games, because of its members’ personal sports achievements and television expertise.
The Channel 4 “All-Star” lineup includes celebrities like Lauren Steadman, triathlon gold medalist from the 2020 Tokyo paralympics. She also won the silver in Rio 2016.
Ellie Robinson, in the photo above, is another medalist planning to present for Channel 4 News at the 2022 Paralympics. She is a swimmer, who took home the gold in 2016. The BBC named Robinson the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2016 as well.
Ade Adepitan is known not just for his wheelchair basketball abilities, but also for his longtime hosting of sports programs. In Tokyo 2020, he won the Broadcast Sports Award.
Former rugby player, Ed Jackson, also appeared alongside Adepitan in the 2020 Paralympic broadcasts. Both Adepitan and Jackson are slated to present for Channel 4 in Beijing 2022.
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Arthur Williams has been presenting the Paralympics since London 2012 and was nominated for a Grierson award for “best documentary presenter.”
Sean Rose is a war veteran and an award winning Paralympics water skier. He will present alongside Billy Monger, former racecar driver turned pundit.
The Paralympics' Mission Statement explains “Through sport, Para athletes celebrate diversity and show that difference is a strength. As pioneers for inclusion, they challenge stereotypes, transform attitudes and break down social barriers and discrimination towards persons with disabilities.”
And what better way to challenge stereotypes and break down barriers than through total integration and representation of champions with disabilities as not just athletes but also pundits?
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