Competition in the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games was
in full swing Thursday as intellectually disadvantaged athletes
from 164 nations and regions participated at a number of venues,
pushing the limits of their own bodies.
Zhou Shuyun, 18, a Shanghai athlete, joined dozens of her peers
in a motor skills training program designed for people with severe
intellectual disabilities.
The slim girl, with a big medal swinging in front of her chest,
sat cheerfully on the sidelines, letting out periodic shrieks of
joy.
Zhou, who is too weak to participate in competitive events, had
minutes before pushed a ball as hundreds of encouraging spectators
and family members cheered her on. She could barely speak to
communicate with other competitors.
"It (the ball push) is the simplest thing for an ordinary person
- but a miracle for my daughter," said Zhou's mother Xu Yi.
Since the girl, the only child of the family, was diagnosed with
serious disability at the age of two, the mother has been caring
for her full time at home. The teenager relies on assistance from
others to eat and walk.
"It's hard to describe how heartbreaking it was when I learned
of my daughter's disability," Xu recalled. "But after so many years
I became tranquil with that reality and feel happy for each minor
bit of progress she has made."
She added that society has become inclusive to its weakest
members, especially in recent years. Activities have been organized
and care centers for the well being of those with intellectual
disabilities have sprung up across Shanghai.
"Everyone here is very excited and my daughter had been talking
all the way to the sports center," said the mother of Zhou Lepei,
27, a Shanghai athlete with a severe intellectual disability, who
also participated in the program Thursday.
The Shanghai Special Olympics, the first of its kind held in
Asia, has been a great success thus far. "Shanghai and China have
given us a new benchmark," said Jim Grossman, co-chair of 2009
Special Olympics World Winter Games, which will be held in Idaho,
the United States.
"We won't be able to match what China has done, frankly."
Stunned by Tuesday's phenomenal opening ceremony, Grossman,
leading half of the board members for the Winter Games, said his
emotional highlight was when two intellectually disabled athletes
slogged through sections of the Great Wall restructured by hundreds
of martial artists. "We had the hearts and spirits (there)," he
said.
A veteran of the Special Olympics movement, the co-chair has
witnessed China's growth from a "society that didn't recognize
people with intellectual disabilities" to one of the "leaders the
world in respect, understanding, appreciation and value for all the
members of society".
"You have done in seven years what took 30 years in the US," he
said. "I can only imagine what will happen in seven years from
now."
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(China Daily October 5, 2007)