D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
August
2008
Paralympics
Page: 2On its Web site (www.paralympic.org), the International Paralympic Committee says this process of classifying parathletes for competition is an ongoing process: "Since the 1960s, the development of sport for athletes with a disability has produced the development of classification systems; and this continues to evolve to the present day."
Asked what aspect of his work he finds particularly inspiring or noteworthy, Anderson tells the story of parathlete Sam Cavanaugh of Bozeman, Mont.
"Well, they're all inspiring," Anderson says of the parathletes, "but Sam stands out to me. For one thing, his injury was so recent." Anderson pauses to think back, calculating the years in his mind. "2005. Psychologically, the recovery after losing a limb takes time. The current wave of Iraq vets, for example. They're still processing it. And Sam lost not only his leg, but his friend in that accident."
Cavanaugh, Anderson explains, was injured in an avalanche. Finding himself buried to his waist in snow and in intense pain, his leg a mangled mess, Cavanaugh dug himself out and searched frantically for his friend, who was completely buried. Against all odds, Cavanaugh found and dug his friend out in just minutes, quickly enough that he should have been able to save his friend from being suffocated. But the other man evidently had died on impact, his neck broken by the deadly heavy mass of sliding snow.
"It must have been devastating for him," Anderson reflects. "It would have stopped most of us dead in our tracks to deal with something like that. But it didn't stop Sam."
Anderson tells what he knows of Cavanaugh's recovery from the man's doctor. Always an athletic guy, Cavanaugh became completely driven during his rehabilitation. His stump still an open wound, Cavanaugh pestered his doctor to fit him with a prosthesis in time for his birthday.
Spirit in Motion According to the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC) Web site (www.paralympic.org), the movement toward an Olympic competition for athletes with disabilities began in 1948, when Sir Ludwig Guttmann organized a sports competition in England involving World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries. Four years later, competitors from the Netherlands joined the games — and an international movement was created. Olympic-style games for athletes with a disability — now called Paralympics — were organized for the first time in Rome in 1960. In Toronto in 1976, other disability groups were added and the idea of merging different disability groups for international sport competitions was born. In that same year, the first Paralympic Winter Games took place in Sweden. Today, the Paralympics are a competition for athletes from various disability groups. The re-inclusion of athletes with intellectual disabilities, suspended by the IPC in 2001 due to athlete eligibility issues with the International Sports Federation for Persons with an Intellectual Disability, is up for review after the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. The movement has grown dramatically since its first days. The number of athletes participating in Summer Paralympic Games has increased from 400 athletes from 23 countries in Rome in 1960 to 3,806 athletes from 136 countries in Athens in 2004. |
"He just kept at him: 'Doc, when am I going to get my leg?' Finally, the doctor gave in and said, 'Okay, Sam, you can have your leg for your birthday but you can only wear it for five minutes.' Amputees have to adjust to their prostheses," Anderson explains. "Later on, the doctor's out on the street and sees this amputee cyclist. He thinks to himself, 'I should go meet this guy so I can introduce him to Sam.' So, he goes up to the guy on the bike and it is Sam! He had somehow taped his prosthesis to his bike and was already out there cycling!"
Anderson laughs and shakes his head. "That's a guy you just can't keep down, an amazing guy."
Looking once again at his computer screen, Anderson pulls up his itinerary, noting that he leaves mid-August for preparatory camp in Colorado with the team. Just two weeks later, they all will set off for Beijing.
"Those are hard days for me," he says of the training camp. "I'm often up at 5 a.m. and sometimes I don't get to bed until 1 a.m." With the team having to make an 18-hour time adjustment in China, Anderson says they'll start modifying their habits as soon as they hit camp in Colorado. "Oh, we'll be sleeping all weird hours, eating at weird times to try to get adjusted before they have to compete. That's going to be a challenge."
He pauses and smiles, then adds, "But these are athletes who are used to challenge."