This article was originally published on Qrius.com
The 2018 Winter Paralympic Games was held from the ninth to the eighteenth March in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The Games took place eighty kilometres from the North Korean border and was the first Winter Paralympics with North Korean representation.
North Korea’s first Winter Games
Amongst the athletes, functionaries and coaches, North Korea also sent two competing athletes. Kim Jong Hyon and Ma Yu Chol, both participated in the sit-skiing competition.
Unlike the previous agreement for Koreans to march under one flag, the two sides of the peninsula refused to walk together over disputes regarding the flag. Yet, it can be seen as progress from Kim Jong Un’s New Year’s speech promoting the creation of “a peaceful environment” between North and South Korea. He had stated that to better North-South relations, both “should make efforts“. During the closing ceremony, the President of the Organizing Committee, Lee Hee-beom, stated that “PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games connected the world as one, and South and North Korean athletes also raised together the Paralympic Torch“. The President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, also stated that he believed North Korea’s presence at the Games will help diffuse some tension.
The winners of the medals
With thirty-six medals in total, The United States won the highest number of medals at the Games. They were followed closely by Canada, Ukraine and France with twenty-eight, twenty-two and twenty medals each. The Neutral Paralympic Athletes also won twenty-four medals in total. The team consisted of Russian athletes who were deemed clean during the doping scandal.
The medals themselves were inspired by Korean characters (Hangeul), traditional clothing (Hanbok) and the traditional house (Hanok). Hence, each athlete took with them a medal that represents Korea – its culture and tradition.
Highlights of the Games
The Games indeed were spectacular as they broke previous Winter Paralympic records. The 2018 edition brought together athletes from all over the world with the most number of participating countries this season. The highest number of tickets were also sold and that entailed the most amount of media coverage than ever before.
Maria Bochet, an alpine skier from France carried the French flag during the opening ceremony. Her performance at the Games stunned the audience as she won four Gold medals out of the five events she competed in.
The spectacular closing ceremony also became one of the highlights of the Games. The PyeongChang Olympic Stadium itself was a breathtaking sight. There were dances, light shows and solo performances including those by Ahra KO, Yeaji Kim and singer Hee Sang Lee.
The South Korean pianist, Yeaji Kim, has been blind since birth and started to play the piano when she was five years old. She has been currently working on a system that would make music easier to read for the blind to help those who share her passion for music.
Among some of the great speeches was Lee Hee-beom who gave a tribute to the late theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking. He used Hawking as an inspiration to motivate all those in the audience. During his speech, he said that “Hawking tested the limits of his imagination” and that “Paralympians have pushed the boundaries of endeavour“. He continued with, “The world has focused not on what holds you back, but on what pushes you forward. Every generation gets a chance to change the world. Paralympians! This is your time to be a catalyst for a more inclusive society”. This speech captured the essence of the event due to its reference to the societal battle of inclusivity that is felt by the athletes that face various disabilities. This speech also added to the overwhelming excitement felt by the teams as well as the spectators.
While the Paralympic flame was being extinguished, South Korean folk music filled the stadium. This was contrasted by the powerful performance by Ailee, a Korean pop artist, that followed it.
Thus, the Winter Paralympic Games were far grander than the previous years and also helped sow a seed of friendship between North and South Korea. It will be seen whether China can live up to the great expectations set by Korea in the 2022 Paralympics that will be held in Beijing. A question that also arises is whether the relations between the two sides of the peninsula will also blossom in the coming years.
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