athletics
Anger over organizational problems “paints over” Paralympics anticipation
Friedhelm Julius Beucher complained about a lot of problems at the Para World Championships, but that’s hardly a concern for the Paralympics. photo
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
It was supposed to be the dress rehearsal for the 2024 Paralympics. At the Para World Championships in athletics in Paris, however, many things did not go as desired.
Numerous organizational deficiencies caused a lot of trouble at the Para World Championships for track and field athletes in Paris, which ended on Monday, and concerns about chaos among the However, the Paralympics next year in the French capital will be limited.
“The anticipation is not affected,” said the German association president Friedhelm Julius Beucher of the German Press Agency: “It was only partially whitewashed.”
The shortcomings at the World Championships, organized by the World Athletics Federation and a local organizing committee, were manifold. “We have never submitted so many complaint notes as this time,” reported national coach Marion Peters. She called the fact that the starting blocks slipped “an absolute no-go”. The fact that no towels were allowed for athletes with prostheses on the first few days was “hazardous to health” for Beucher. According to Peters, this was explained by the fact that TV viewers “couldn’t be expected” to see pictures of the stumps drying off.
Peters speaks of “distorted competition”
Like some athletes during the World Cup, team manager Jörg Frischmann complained about the long distances for the athletes in the stadium. On carpets that destroyed the thorns under the prostheses. “It was super bad,” he said. The jump bar in the warm-up area was “crumbled”.
In addition, the transport system did not work. “The golf car that was supposed to drive the athletes sometimes had no driver, sometimes the batteries were dead. It’s unfair when four athletes are driven down and three have to walk,” criticized Frischmann. Peters therefore spoke of “distorted competition.” That shouldn’t happen again next year.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is again in charge of the Paralympics. “Then everything will be at its finest,” predicted Frischmann. And Peters added: “We’re looking forward to it like Bolle.”
IPC spokesman Craig Spence said that “you can’t compare the two events. It would be like comparing a bicycle and an Airbus A380. The OC for this World Cup had ten permanent employees, next year during the games it will be 4,000.” Paris is “definitely prepared for revolutionary games with spectacular venues such as blind football under the Eiffel Tower. It could also be the first sold-out games ever.” 2.8 million tickets are available.