Sport
An eager ticket holder for the Paralympic Games was caught in an awkward exchange on the way to the opening ceremony as he learned that he had fundamentally misunderstood the nature of the Games.
Marcus Kline, a 33 year old non-disabled man, was overheard telling a friend that he was “surprised at the number of paralysed Olympians” competing in the 2024 Games. Undaunted by his mistake, Kline wondered aloud why modern medicine was powerless to prevent so many catastrophic injuries.
Noting the diversity of disabled athletes, he was seen asking staff “How come the bloke with half an arm counts as paralysed?”. Olympic staff were quick to correct his error, noting that the prefix ‘para’ refers to the parallel nature of the games, not the physical status of the athletes.
Kline became further confused about what paratroopers do, as well as parallel graphs (paragraphs) and parallel metres (parameters). He was reassured that not every prefix of ‘para’ stands for parallel.
Having learned from his mistake, Marcus had the sense to Google whether the Special Olympics and Paralympics were the same thing before making it even worse.
Stay tuned for more reporting on gaffes from non-disabled people at the 2024 Paralympic Games, which are sure to ramp up once the tv commentary starts.
