Commitment, Guts & Determination

Our Olympians and Paralympians are now returning home. Each with their own extraordinary story to tell.

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It’s hard to describe … years of sacrifice, commitment to training, absolute discipline, tons of pain & suffering, heaps of competition, plenty of winning & losing along the way, and a total life focus. All that has pre-empted their time in Paris.

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It is great to see the Paralympics receive such attention. Similar media coverage, sponsorship and recognition as the able-bodied Olympics. The Paris games are the best that we have yet seen.

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Yes, it has come a long way, Chris!

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Way back in 1980 when I competed, things were a little different:

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·????? We each had to raise the total funds to enter, travel and compete in the Paralympics. Minimal government support. I never wanted to sell another raffle ticket for the rest of my life!

·????? 1980 was the year that Russia held the Olympics, but they would not host the Paralympics. So instead, they were held in Arnhem in Holland.

·????? Back them, very few Aussies even knew about the Paralympics or the results the Aussies were getting.

·????? Technology was rapidly evolving and old-fashioned wheelchairs were morphing into lightweight purpose-built racing or basketball chairs.

·????? Such chairs were not commercially available, so we built them ourselves. I taught myself how to weld chrome-moly and built around 20 machines for my teammates and other athletes. My first wheelchair at age of just 12 was a clunky 30 kgs. The first racing chair I built was just 7kg. I was a lot stronger and bigger then.

·????? We travelled the cheapest possible way. Crappy airlines that no longer exist, in aircraft that missed their date to be scrapped, stopping in cities where they did not understand disability, let alone an entire team of disabled people, and on routes that stopped everywhere along the way. We arrived exhausted.

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But it was an extraordinary experience. Everyone there had dedicated their lives to this event and wanted to win for their country. Not everyone does win but their efforts are genuine.

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I managed to set a world record in my heat for the 400 meters. Unfortunately, I only managed bronze in the final. My record stood for a few more years. I also achieved a bronze in the 200 meters.

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I would love to have had another try at that race. I think about it from time-to-time.

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Lack of top-level overseas competition experience, lack of understanding in sports psychology, immature science of coaching, and naivety about sport, probably all cost me gold. And I probably could have trained more. I was still at Uni so I could have fitted it in.

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But I was proud of what I had done. At the time. But no-one knew what the Paralympics were, so over the years I stopped mentioning it to people.

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I only hope that those who come back to Australia now want to shout it out … ‘I competed at the Paralympics’. We Aussies are there for you and proud of what you have done!

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As an aside, last year the International Paralympic Committee awarded the formal Post Nominal Initials of ‘PLY’ to all current and former Paralympic Athletes … back to the very first games in 1960.

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The Australian Government also awarded a special numbered recognition pin to all Aussie Paralympic athletes at ceremonial events around Australia.

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Chris Alp (PLY)

Australian Paralympian number 93

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Oh yeah … <click here> ?for that amazing “Superhuman” Paralympic video from Rio!