The Sports Factor

The Paralympics not only feature some outstanding athletic performances, they also showcase the extraordinary determination of athletes who don't so much overcome their physical challenges as make them irrelevant.

Transcript

This transcript was typed from a recording of the program. The ABC cannot guarantee its complete accuracy because of the possibility of mishearing and occasional difficulty in identifying speakers.

Mick O'Regan: Hello and welcome to The Sports Factor, here on ABC Radio National. I'm Mick O'Regan.

Well, we're heading back to Beijing, where another group of unreasonably fit and focused people are taking up the chance to be champions.

The Paralympics are in full swing, and I for one am finding the coverage absolutely compelling. I suppose at the Olympics we get used to the extraordinary feats of excellence performed by athletes who are the benchmark of physical ability, and whose commitment and sacrifice to do their best, well, it's inspiring.

Then to see the Paralympians, who've not only scaled the heights of sporting excellence, but have also had to deal with personal and physical challenges in the process, well it's breathtaking. For me, the image of the Chinese swimmer, He Junquan, propelling himself through the water with only his legs to a Gold in the men's backstroke, is one of the most inspirational moments in sport I can think of.

Australia's Amy Winters, a paralympic sprinter and dual Gold Medallist in Sydney, is in Beijing as part of the team and as part of the ABC commentary team, and I asked her what the mood was like at the Games.

Amy Winters: It has been fantastic here. I think everyone is talking about what a great job the Chinese people have done in putting these Games on. The crowds have been awesome; it's been packed stadiums at the athletics in particular. We're talking about 90,000 people so the crowds have been great. It's a really good vibe over here.

Mick O'Regan: Highlights so far for you?

Amy Winters: Oh, Heath Francis in the 200 metres, definitely. He was just in awesome form and I really can't wait to see him in all of his other events, he just looked sensational.

Mick O'Regan: Now the 200 metres of course is an event very close to your heart, because you are a dual Gold Medallist from the Sydney Paralympic Games where you took out both the 100 and 200 and Bronze in the 400. So you're obviously a sensational sprinter. You're a T-46 athlete. Can you explain to the audience just what that means?

Amy Winters: Yes, T-46 is for amputees, so you could be missing your arm up at the shoulder or down at the wrist. You could be missing both arms, but essentially, everyone who's missing part of their arm is grouped in that classification. So that's what that one means. Across the board, if we're just talking athletics, you're looking at four different disability groups: so you're looking at a vision impairment, you're looking at cerebral palsy, wheelchair athletes or amputees. And then within those disability groups there's a range of disabilities. So you have mild disability through into more severe disabilities.

Mick O'Regan: So 46 as a number, what does that indicate?

Amy Winters: OK, the 4 indicates that you're an amputee or a les autre, which means the others, so it could mean limb deformities, or something that's similar to an amputation of the limb. And the 6 indicates that it's mild. The higher the second number the milder the disability. So for example in the amputees a 42 is an above-knee amputee, 44 is a below-knee amputee and the 46 indicates the arm amputees. It can be quite complex, but once you get your head around it, it does make more sense.

Mick O'Regan: Right, now I'll come back to the Games in just a moment, but I am interested in your progress through to elite athletics. When was it made apparent to you that you had the capacity to compete in the Paralympic Games, compete at that international level?

Amy Winters: I was one of those kids who always loved to run. I was born with my disability so I was missing my right forearm, so it was never - that was just me, and that was who I was. And as I said, I always loved to compete in sport. So I just started at school carnivals, did Little Athletics and then it wasn't until I was 14 and I saw the Barcelona Paralympic Games take place that I didn't realise that the Paralympic Games was for other disability groups than wheelchairs. At that time I thought it was just for people in wheelchairs. And I can't remember exactly how I got involved but I did, and once I did I never looked back, it was a really fast progression from World Champs and as a result I've done three Paralympic Games. So it's been such an amazing experience and one that I'm really, really happy to be able to continue to be involved in since I've retired.

Mick O'Regan: Now you went to Kempsey High School on the New South Wales Mid North Coast. As a schoolgirl, were you channelled into elite athletics?

Amy Winters: No, not at all, not intentionally. Honestly it was just something that just happened, and I just was subconsciously drawn to I think. With schools there's that great pathway available through to school zone, regional, State, and I mean I would do that pathway and go to State championships with all the other kids. And so there's always just that little question lurking at the back of my mind of 'These guys have got two hands; I wonder how I'd go against girls who only had one'. Little did I know that in Australia there probably wasn't this expensive network of amputees just waiting to run, but the great thing was that internationally there was that opportunity, and so it was great to be able to get into that, and to be able to explore how I would go.

Mick O'Regan: Absolutely. Now you just mentioned the comparison between disabled athletes and able-bodied athletes. Of course one of the most interesting athletes to come through in recent years is the South African runner, Oscar Pistorius who runs on two protheses, artificial legs. Now we've covered him before on The Sports Factor; because of his desire to run against able-bodied athletes, and I think he came very close to the qualifying time for able-bodied athletes. What impact did that have do you think, on the paralympic community to see a double amputee pressing to run against able-bodied athletes?

Amy Winters: Yeah, it's a really interesting scenario with Oscar. You know I absolutely totally respect his, obviously his talent and his desire to compete at the Olympic Games, but to be honest, I think there's actually almost a little - I guess, we're here at the Paralympic Games which is the ultimate event for athletes with a disability, and we absolutely respect this competition and what it stands for. So there's almost a sense that it's almost not good enough for Oscar, and I think people probably are a little offended by it.

But completely respect his decision to want to push the boundaries, and to be honest, what he has done, raising the profile of Paralympic sport has been phenomenal. So absolutely all respect to Oscar and wish him the best, to do whatever it is that he wants to do, because he obviously feels a desire to compete at the Olympic Games. So I think that story in particular has a long way to go. It will be really interesting to see how it unfolds over the next few years.

Mick O'Regan: Indeed. Now Amy, there were fears before the Paralympic Games began that possibly the Beijing crowds wouldn't attend many of the events, and that there would be a sort of let-down after the huge explosion of the Olympic Games. What's been your feeling? How have you seen both the organising and the crowds at the events?

Amy Winters: Oh that certainly hasn't happened. The Chinese people are truly getting behind these Games, and it's been wonderful. From the moment of the opening ceremony, which was just an amazing spectacular. I think we were all talking about it being the best opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, it was truly sensational, and the crowd numbers have been fantastic. I was at the Stadium a couple of nights ago where it was packed, and you were sitting in there going This is a packed Paralympic stadium for athletics, and it's not even - you know it was early in the program. So it's an amazing spectacular over here, and everyone's truly got behind it and the Beijing people have done a wonderful job in hosting these Paralympic Games.

Mick O'Regan: Now of course I want to turn to the controversy surrounding our new-found rivalry, or our re-burnished rivalry with Great Britain. You'd be aware, of course, that the Sports Minister, Kate Ellis, had to suffer the ignominy of wearing a British tracksuit top to one of the wheelchair basketball events, due to her failure to win a bet with the British Sports Ministers. Now as I talk to you I think the British team are in second place on the medal tally behind China, Australia I think is running fifth at the moment. Tell me about that, has that tension between the UK team and the Australian team carried over from the Olympics.

Amy Winters: I think there's always a rivalry between us and the UK team, and it doesn't matter what sport it's in. So that continues, but Great Britain have certainly put a lot of funding and resources into their Paralympic team, you know, the kind of dollars that we're talking about is quite staggering. And obviously that's driven a lot by 2012 coming up, so I think you are really seeing the results of that investment, and Great Britain will be an extremely hard team to beat, and that's just purely from the resources and investment that they've made in Paralympic sport. But our athletes are out there doing such a sensational job here at these Games, they truly are. You know it's just great to see the stories continue to unfold because there's so much talent on this team.

Mick O'Regan: Indeed. Now just about the inspirational role of the Paralympics, do you remember when you first noticed Paralympic athletes, and thought, Gee, I could do that. And what's your sense now of say younger disabled athletes in Australia and the significance of the Beijing Paralympics?

Amy Winters: It's really interesting that I think when you're in amongst the team and you're just doing your thing, and I think as an athlete you're focused on what your performance is, and you're not thinking too much about the flow-on effect and the impact that your performances have. You're seriously thinking about your performance and what it is you need to do to be the best that you can be.

And so it really wasn't until I stepped away from competition and I've looked back and really have an appreciation of the impact of Paralympic athletes on the wider community, and people with disabilities, and just inspiring other people to really make the most of what it is that they have in whatever field it may be. And I guess through the professionalism of the team of just really getting on with the job and doing what it is that they're here to do, that inspires other people to do the same in their own lives. And that's a really important factor, and it's just something so special to be a part of.

Mick O'Regan: Absolutely. Now we're into the last week of the Paralympics. What are the events that you're most looking forward to and what do you think, from an Australian, from a purely nationalistic viewpoint here, what are the events that you think that you think that Australians should be most keenly following?

Amy Winters: Look, I think the rowing, we've got a couple of guys in the finals this afternoon, so that'll be really interesting to see if they can pick up a medal. I'm pretty confident that they can. Swimming continues to be a strength for Australia, obviously in the Olympics but also in the Paralympic Games, so we'll hope to see some more Gold Medals from the ice cube and of course athletics is close to my heart; I hate to be biased, but it's a really strong team and you've got stars like Heath Francis and Kurt Fearnley who are in multiple events.

Young athletes, Evan O'Henlan coming through in the men's cerebral palsy 100 and 200 metres. He's sure to dominate and I really can't wait to see him compete. Lisa McIntosh as well, in the Cerebral Palsy women's sprint, and Amanda Fraser in the field, in the discus and the shot-putt as well. So as I said, I hate to be biased, but I just know so much about the athletics team and can't wait to see them compete.

Mick O'Regan: Don't worry about bias, we love bias here on The Sports Factor! Now, as a final question what about your future? I mean does coaching appeal to you? Do you see an ongoing role for yourself in paralympic sport?

Amy Winters: Oh, absolutely. I currently work at the Australian Paralympic Committee and I've moved into the sponsorship area there, so I've been over here with a group of our sponsors and supporters, a lot of whom have been with the APC for a long time, and this is the time that they come over and they get to see paralympic sports, and they realise where their investment has gone to, and they have just had a wonderful time, and it's really great to be able to involve them and make them part of the team and part of our Australian Paralympics family, which has been wonderful. So that's one role. And then I'm also doing some commentating here with the ABC in athletics. So it's been a busy time for me, but I've loved every second of it. And will absolutely continue to be involved in some capacity with the paralympic movement.

Mick O'Regan: I'm sure the paralympic movement are very happy about that. Amy Winters, it's been a pleasure to have you on The Sports Factor, have a great time in Beijing and thanks for being on the program.

Amy Winters: Thanks so much for having me.

Mick O'Regan: Paralympian and ABC commentator, Amy Winters, on the line from Beijing.

Guests

Amy Winters
Paralympian and ABC commentator.

Further Information

ABC Paralympics site

Presenter

Mick O'Regan

Producer

Andrew Davies