Prague Journal

Tuesday, September 21, 2004.

We are off to the Athens Olympic Sports Complex (OAKA) to see the cycling events on the velodrome: sprints, pursuits, and time trials. The Japanese women sprinters were ahead of everyone by several seconds. Barb set a world record in her classification, but placed sixth in her event. The Australian men tandem sprinters were very aggressive, to the point of causing several crashes. It’s amazing to see the variety of events and the fluidity on the bicycles despite various disabilities (amputees as well as CP and head injury classifications). We sat behind the parents of a Canadian women’s tandem team, who remarked about the lack of funding in North American for the Paralympics as compared to the Chinese, Australian, and European teams. (We later read an article about Cambodian athletes – most of whom have lost limbs from landmine explosions—who get no funding at all for training or equipment.)
The morning races ended at noon, so Rick and I arranged to meet Barb at the Olympic village – this time with official passes that would let us inside the complex. Barb took the athletes’ bus directly there. We had to go by public transportation which meant a tram ride to the suburban train which went to the location of the sole special Olympic bus that went to the village. All this took a full 1 ½ hours.
We spent the afternoon at the village, a bustling hive of activity and good cheer. Between the 4000 Paralympic athletes, coaches and support staff, there were at least 10,000 people housed there. I was amazed to see people with no legs walking smoothly on prosthetic limbs. Of course there were wheelchairs spinning about and one- and two-legged walkers, many arm- or hand-less people, and a few guide dogs for the many visually impaired athletes. The disabled crowd is distinctive from the able-bodied in age and temperament. Fewer of these athletes are young – since many, like Barb, have come by their disabilities in adulthood – and while they are fiercely competitive in the arena, are very supportive of each other – even their direct competitors – off the playing field.
The trip back to our hotel was a bit shorter, since we could take the Olympic bus directly to a metro station, so we had time to relax before dinner at yet another interesting Greek restaurant. Like Prague, dinners in Athens have lots of bread and potatoes. Unlike Athens, salads are typical, and diners are given water at the table and presented with a check before they have to ask. Menus are usually in several languages and most waitstaff speak enough English to explain and recommend various dishes. Many restaurants as well as outdoor cafes have waiters beckoning would-be patrons to dine at their establishment. Greek style of service reminded us more of the Arab marketplaces than of Europe.

posted by JWinn @ 8:34 PM