Opinion: Not to be ignored

In one way, it was a fitting scene. In another way, though, it wasn't. Sitting in his wheelchair on a rainy night in Rio de Janeiro, the president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Sir Philip Craven, officially brought to a close what he described as an "excellent Paralympics." As soon as he extinguished the flame, at 10:21 p.m. local time, most of the athletes fled the interior of a soaking-wet Maracana stadium.

The sadness of this moment was not in keeping with the great enthusiasm with which millions of spectators followed the Games of the world's best disabled athletes. One could see this sad closure as being a metaphor for how the top official in international sports left the Paralympics out in the rain.

In the past, Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), never tired of emphasizing the importance of the Paralympic movement. However, he was a complete no-show at the Rio Games. He failed to attend the opening ceremony, any of the competitions, or the closing ceremony. The IOC president's decision to stay away is simply embarrassing. Instead, he took the time to personally congratulate the Croatian Olympic Committee on the 25th anniversary of its founding. This is a clear case of setting the wrong priorities.

"Evidence of incompetence" is how German paraglider Heiko Kröger described Bach's decision to stay away, concluding that: "The significance of the Paralympics clearly lags behind a lot of other things."

Impressive performances by people with disabilities

Unfortunately, he is right. For many, the Paralympics continue to be perceived as a second-class event. The "real" Games had long since come and gone; now it was the turn of the disabled. The apparent lack of interest from the IOC and Thomas Bach may be explained by their noses having been put out of joint after the IPC barred Russian athletes from competing in the Paralympics, something that brought Craven much international acclaim. Whatever the reason, the head honchos in the IOC have overlooked one key fact: The Paralympics were a complete success.

For 12 days, 2.2 million visitors, along with 4,352 athletes from 159 nations turned Rio into a sports town. The level of enthusiasm with which the spectators cheered on the disabled athletes, many of whom had been previously virtually unknown, was a pleasant surprise. The residents of Rio probably surprised themselves as much as anyone else with their newly found euphoria over disabled sports.

In a country in which accessibility and other issues specific to the disabled have hardly attracted any interest in the past, suddenly disabled athletes were being celebrated as stars. Take Jefinho, "the blind Pelé", in football for example or Felipe Gomes, the gold-medal-winning sprinter from the favela. It is also encouraging that 76 nations won at least one medal this time - a sign of broadening competitiveness - even if China took every fifth gold medal awarded. A total of 209 new world records showed a wide audience what disabled athletes are capable of. As the Brazilian newspaper "Zero Hora" concluded: "The Paralympics end with a message of equality and confidence."

The IOC ignores the success of the Paralympics

Of course the spectators who braved the rainy conditions in the Maracana were celebrating not only the Games, but in part themselves as hosts, which is understandable given the hard times Brazil has been facing - with its political and economic crises. But they also celebrated the successful integration of disabled sports, which took another step forward in Rio. If the IOC continues to ignore or sleep through this development its officials shouldn't be surprised to wake up one day and see how the Paralympics continue to develop - both confidently and independently.