"The Real Olympics"
Kyle Jones
The Real Olympics
Doctor Ludwig Guttman, known as the “Father of the Paralympics” referred to the Paralympics as “the real Olympics”. He said this because he believed that the Paralympics were a better example of the ideals of the Olympics, than the Olympics themselves. The original Olympic games of course took place long ago in Olympia, and were a religious festival. The modern Olympics was founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin, who founded the International Olympic Committee, with the first modern Olympic games being held in Athens two years later. Pierre de Coubertin created the modern Olympics with the goal of promoting peace, unity, and healthy competition. The International Olympic Committee with these goals in mind made their principle “the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning, but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering, but fighting well.”
I agree with Dr.Guttman’s belief that the Paralympics adheres to the Olympics ideals. The Olympics stated that the goal isn’t winning, but participating and participating to the best of your abilities. The Paralympics has its goal of enabling para-athletes to compete at the highest level. The Paralympics was started with the goal of rehabilitation, both mentally, and physically. Participation in the Paralympics helped give men, and women that had sustained life altering injuries hope, and new outlooks. With participation came rehabilitation and betterment of life. The goal wasn’t for a team or athlete to win, it was to have them participate, and compete.
The original mission of the Paralympics was to create a competition for people with disabilities equal to the Olympics. It has evolved overtime to “To lead the Paralympic Movement, oversee the delivery of the Paralympic Games and support members to enable Para athletes to achieve sporting excellence” (Paralympics.org). Achieving sporting excellence is through participation, and competition of the games. The Paralympics like the Olympics celebrates their athletes, the competition between them, and their achievements to get to where they are, regardless if they win a medal. This atmosphere of an inclusive competition is what Pierre de Coubertin was referring to in his statement about the IOC’s principles. When thinking about the statement in the context of the Paralympics it is spot on. In the video “What Is Paralympic Sport” we can see the competitiveness is identical to that of the Olympics. With all of this we can see that Dr.Guttman’s statement that the Paralympics is the “real Olympics” is not wrong since the Paralympics adheres to the Olympics founding principles.
Sources
The games: The real story of the ancient olympic games - penn museum. The Games | The Real Story of the Ancient Olympic Games - Penn Museum. (n.d.). https://www.penn.museum/sites/olympics/olympicorigins.shtml#:~:text=FROM%20ANCIENT%20TO%20MODERN,serve%20as%20the%20first%20host.
Olympic values - excellence, respect and friendship. (n.d.). https://www.olympics.com/ioc/olympic-values
What are the Paralympic values?. International Paralympic Committee. (2014, July 28). https://www.paralympic.org/feature/what-are-paralympic-values
Wikimedia Foundation. (2025, January 27). Ludwig Guttmann. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Guttmann#:~:text=Sir%20Ludwig%20Guttmann%20CBE%20FRS,activities%20for%20people%20with%20disabilities.
YouTube. (n.d.). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wopRlzdXlj4&t=110s
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