– Ryan Bailey reports from Rio de Janeiro
IT WOULD BE an understatement to suggest the build-up to these Paralympic Games has been shrouded in uncertainty.
The 2016 edition gets underway in Rio’s iconic Maracana Stadium later this evening against a backdrop of a financial crisis.
Between ticket sales, venue closures and funding cuts, the International Paralympic Committee has found itself in a state of emergency.
As recently as three weeks ago, organisers were forced to downplay genuine concerns over whether staging the Games was still financially possible and whether we’d all be here at all.
But the show has gone on amid a host of cutbacks and the air of uncertainty has been tempered somewhat by a tangible sense of anticipation.
The journey in from Rio’s international airport, no longer than 30 minutes, only heightens the feeling that the city has finally bought into the Games.
The Rio 2016 slogan, ‘A New World’, is emblazoned on every street post, toll booth operators sport Paralympic t-shirts and the Olympic Stadium stands tall over the sprawling favelas.
Tonight’s opening ceremony will mark the start of a sporting carnival but one which is very much open and accessible to the locals.
While many of the Olympic venues were left sparsely populated due to the inordinately priced tickets, this time around organisers have copped it. Prices have been slashed to as low as 10 real (2.50 Euro) for some events with much of it on course to be a sell-out.
A surge in ticket sales and a sudden spike in interest levels means this Paralympics promises to be much more than just the after show. It’s the least the athletes deserve.
Caught in political and economic crises, Rio always had a hard act to follow in matching the atmosphere and sporting spectacle of London but slowly the sport-mad natives are buying into it.
Even after three flights and a journey spanning 24 hours, you can’t but be energised by the prospect of what is to come.
From an Irish perspective, there is much to look forward to over the next 10 days of competition and Jason Smyth most certainly remains the headline act.
Labelled the ‘Usain Bolt of the Paralympics’, it speaks volumes of his profile that the double gold medallist from four years ago was put up for a press conference by the IPC for the world’s media yesterday. He is big news.
We’ll see Smyth on the track on Thursday for his T13 100m heats but before that swimmer Ailbhe Kelly will be the first of Ireland’s 48 athletes in action.
Paralympics Ireland have set their medal target at eight for the Games — half of what was won in 2012 — but this is a team containing a mixture of youth, experience and genuine medal contenders.
Smyth spoke yesterday of how he would love to defend his title on the second day of the Games to set the tone for the rest of his team-mates and hopefully provide the platform for a memorable week-and-a-half for the Irish out here in Rio.
At this stage, however, we’re all just looking forward to the athletes taking centre stage and for all the talking about ticket sales and funding cuts to be put to bed.
Let the Games begin, and here’s hoping for a successful one.
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Hardly world beaters, especially going forward
@COYBIG: two evenly matched teams tomorrow so
I think travelling to Georgia will affect them. It’s a long journey. We have a chance.
@prop joe: good pt. I had not considered that. I think we will beat them.
Havent lost to these since 92. No Bale wine rate since 2012 is 9%.
Believe
Coybig
We will beat this shower tomorrow COYBIG! The welsh think the only have to turn up to beat us!
Whats the team photo about?
@Jane: It’s something Wales have been doing for a couple of years now as a bit of a joke, they deliberately take terrible team photos. Go back through all their qualifiers and you’ll see some with one player kneeling and the rest standing, and the opposite. Leaving gaps like that etc. No idea what it’s about.
@Eanna Costello: I’d never noticed it before, thanks
@Eanna Costello: I think they did one bad photo by mistake and just kept it going then for a laugh
@Jane:
More examples here. It’s gas really.
https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2017/1008/910725-the-wonders-of-the-wales-team-photo-what-is-going-on/
Seems like you guys think you have this in the bag already.
To put some perspective here – Wales have lost 3 games since 2013 when Bale wasn’t playing. Two of those were friendlies when other players including Ramsey were also not available, and the other one was after we’d already qualified for the Euros.
We haven’t lost a game since the 2016 Euros Semi final, we’ve kept a clean sheet for the last 3 games which we won, and tomorrow night we’re playing at home.
So despite the dismissive remarks above, Wales may pull off a huge upset.
@Saul Hamilton Evans: “not world beaters” “evenly matched” “we have a chance”. How is that us thinking its in the bag or dismissive of Wales? I think nearly all Irish fans thinks Wales are favourites but as said above, we go to Cardiff with a chance.
@Paul P O’Sullivan: is focain bómán é.
He’s a clown