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FireFlyz ~ 13
Paralympic Games Facts
Radiah ... “This is a
gift forMalaysia!”
Radiahwas involved inmany events but her talent
for the long jump and 400mwas spotted by her
then state coach, CikguNoorul Hudah fromThe
Special EducationDepartment, Johor State, Johor.
Siti Noor Radiah Ismail (Bronze: Athletics
Women’s Long Jump- T20)
“This is a gift for Malaysia!” declared Radiah on
winning hermedal. Radiahwas bornNovember
3, 1993 and shewon the Bronzemedal in Athletics
Women’s Long Jump - T20 (disability in track and
jump events).
Shewas ranked number one in Asia in 2014 and
she gaveMalaysia its first goldmedal fromthe
Incheon Asian Para Games. Her father, whomshe
says is her idol, exposed her to sports at a very young
age. Hewas a Commando in the army, and thus was
very fit. The young lady hails fromSungai Udang in
Malacca, and says that shewas “a naughty girl who
liked hanging out with the boys.”
Radiahwas involved inmany events but her talent
• Before the Paralympics began,
athletes with physical disabilities
competed in the Olympics. Ray
Ewrywon eight gold medals in the
1900, 1904, and 1908 Olympics
while having polio.
• The Paralympic Movement began
in 1948, after Dr, Ludwig Guttmann
began to introduce sport as a
method of rehabilitation for WWII
soldiers. He organised the first
competitions in wheelchair sport
and the first event in archery at
Stoke Mandeville on the same day
as the opening of the Summer
Olympics in London.
• In 1960, the first Paralympic Games
were held in the same country and
city as the Summer Olympic Games
- Rome - where 400 athletes with
spinal cord injuries competed. Ever
since then, the Summer Paralympic
Games have been organised on
a four-year basis alongside the
Summer Olympic Games.
• The term Paralympics combines
the Latin word para (“next to”)
with the word Olympics, because
the games happen alongside the
Summer and Winter Olympics.
• During the London Summer
Paralympic Games in 2012, more
than 4,200athletes from 164
countries competed across 20
sports.
• Paralympic medals make sound
telling visually impaired athletes if
they are gold, silver or bronze.
for the long jump and 400m
was spotted by her then state
coach, CikguNoorul Hudah
fromThe Special Education
Department, Johor State, Johor.
She actually thought that she
would not be included in the
Olympic contingent as she still
had not fully recovered froma
lower back injury. She admits
to feeling very down as her
family had high hopes for her in
Rio. The injury hadmeant that
was not able to participate in
competitions for a fewmonths
and that was a “very tough time”
for her. Evenwith a not fully
recovered injury, she did her
family and country proud.
Down time for her involves
catching amovie or relaxing at
a Starbucks or her favourite
Nasi
AyamPenyet
restaurant. She is
training hard for the 2017 Para
AseanGames, whichwill be
held in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia.
Her future goals are to improve
her distance and to participate
more in European events.