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Stephen Miller is one of Britain's most successful athletes. His inspirational autobiography tells of his struggles and triumphs, and is told with refreshing honesty and infectious humour.
Female Olympian and Paralympian Events is a groundbreaking book that examines women’s sports in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which have long been underappreciated and under-analyzed. The book begins with a brief background on women’s participation in the Olympic Games and their role relative to the International Olympic Committee, then introduces the underlying Gendered Critical Discourse Analysis theory used throughout the book’s analysis before delving into a literature review of female Olympians and Paralympians’ events. It includes a listing of noteworthy “firsts” in the field, followed by individual discussions of twenty-eight Summer and seven Winter events, analyzed according to their historical, rhetorical, and popular cultural representations. Women’s unique role(s) in the various events are discussed, particular athletes and Paralympic events are highlighted, and original tables are also included. At the end of each section, affiliated organizations and resources are included in this invaluable referential volume.
“I have had the chance to meet Melissa and hear her amazing story in person. In this book, Melissa shares insight on how she became a warrior and fought back to become the champion she is today. She is a great example of perseverance in the face of what appears to be insurmountable hurdles. Her love of country is strong and carries through her joining the military and representing Team USA in the Paralympic Games. A true champion in many ways.”—Jackie Joyner Kersee “Melissa’s story of strength and courage is not only incredibly moving, it is a must-read for anyone facing any challenge. Clearly her passion for country and sport drives every one of her accomplishments. From a young gymnast like I was, to representing the United States in Paratriathlon, Melissa inspires us all with her story of overcoming unimaginable adversity and what it truly means to be unstoppable.”—Shannon Miller Melissa Stockwell has been a restless force of nature from the time she was a little girl speeding around her neighborhood on her bike, to her tumbles and spills as a high-level gymnast and Olympic hopeful, to joining the ROTC in college as an outlet for her patriotism and love of America. After 9/11, she was deployed to Iraq as a commissioned Army officer, where she suffered the injury that would change her life forever. After a long and challenging recovery at Walter Reed Hospital, she exercised her power of choice to channel her energy into competition, winning three Paratriathlon World Championships and medaling at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Her journey weaves service to her country and the heartache of a painful divorce along with founding a successful nonprofit, launching a career in prosthetics, finding new love, and becoming a mother to two children. Along the way, she meets all the living American presidents and inspires others with disabilities—through a story that is riveting, moving, and an inspiration for anyone who would choose to live their life to the fullest.
Today the Paralympic Movement is recognised as a global sporting phenomenon attracting thousands of athletes from an ever-increasing number of countries. Athlete First provides a thoroughly researched history and analysis of the Paralympic Movement, including the development and organisation of the International Paralympic Committee. As well as recounting factual achievements and events, the book examines the position of sport and international competition for people with a disability within their changing historical context and in relation to the Olympic Movement and able-bodied sport. The first history of the origins and development of the Paralympic movement Examines disabled sport and international competition within their changing historical context Includes details of key players in the movement – on and off the field Written in an accessible style by a recognised historian Athlete First will prove invaluable to researchers and professionals involved in the field of sport and disability as well as sport scientists and physical education specialists with an interest in sports history. The Publisher appreciates the role played by the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) in bringing this publication to fruition, and acknowledges the financial assistance provided by the International Olympic Committee.
The remarkable and inspirational story of Oksana Masters, who was born with radiation-induced birth defects and suffered appalling abuse as an orphan, before being adopted and moving to the US, where she went on to triumph over her challenges to win ten Paralympic medals in four different sports. Oksana Masters was born in the shadow of Chernobyl, with one kidney, a partial stomach, six toes on each foot, webbed fingers, no right bicep and no thumbs. Her left leg was six inches shorter than her right, and she was missing both tibias. Relinquished to the orphanage system by birth parents daunted by the staggering cost of their child’s medical care, Oksana encountered numerous abuses, some horrifying. Salvation came at the age of seven when Gay Masters, an unmarried American professor who saw a photo of the little girl and became haunted by her eyes, waged a two-year war against stubborn adoption authorities to rescue Oksana from her circumstances. In America, Oksana endured years of operations that included a double leg amputation. Still, how could she hope to fit in when there were so many things making her different? As it turned out, she would do much more than fit in. Determined to prove herself and fuelled by a drive to succeed that still smouldered from childhood, Oksana triumphed in not just one sport but four - winning against the world’s best in rowing, biathlon, cross-country skiing and road cycling competitions. This is Oksana’s astonishing story of journeying through a series of dark tunnels - and how, with her mother’s love, she finally found her way into the light. Her message to anyone who doesn’t fit in: you can find a place where you excel and where you have worth.
"An overview of the Paralympic Games featuring sports played by Individuals and teams of athletes competing against each other ... Like the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games showcase super strength and skills, stamina and endurance both individually and through teamwork."--
Meet Mallory Weggemann: a Paralympic gold-medalist, world champion swimmer, ESPY winner, and NBC Sports commentator whose extraordinary story will give you the encouragement you need to rise up to meet any challenge you face in life. On January 21, 2008, a routine medical procedure left Mallory paralyzed from her waist down. Less than two years later, Mallory had broken eight world records, and by the 2012 Paralympic Games, she held fifteen world records and thirty-four American records. Two years after that, a devastating fall severely damaged her left arm. But despite all of the hardships that Mallory faced, she was sure about one thing: she refused to give up. After two reconstructive surgeries and extended rehab, she won two gold medals and a silver medal at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships. And even better, she found confidence, independence, and persevering love. She even walked down the aisle on her wedding day against all odds. Mallory's extraordinary resilience and uncompromising commitment to excellence are rooted in her resolve, her faith, and her sheer grit. In Limitless, Mallory shares the lessons she learned by pushing past every obstacle and expectation that stood in her way, teaching you how to: redefine your limits remember that healing is not chronological be willing to fail lean on your community embrace your comeback write your own ending Mallory's story reminds us that we can handle whatever challenges, labels, or difficulties we face in life, and we can do it on our own terms. Because when we refuse to accept every boundary that hems us in--physical, emotional, or societal--we become limitless.
This book focuses on the ground-breaking coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games by the UK’s publicly owned but commercially funded Channel 4 network, coverage which seemed to deliver a transformational shift in attitudes towards people with disabilities. It sheds important new light on our understanding of media production and its complex interactions with sport and wider society. Drawing on political economy and cultural studies, the book explores why and how a marginalised group was brought into the mainstream by the media, and the key influencing factors and decision-making processes. Featuring interviews with key people involved in the television and digital production structures, as well as organisational archives, it helps us to understand the interplay between creativity and commerce, between editorial and marketing workflows, and about the making of meaning. The book also looks at coverage of the Rio Paralympics, and ahead to the Tokyo Games, and at changing global perceptions of disability through sport. This is fascinating reading for any advanced students, researchers, or sport management or media professionals looking to better understand the media production process or the significance of sport and disability in wider society.
From Afghanistan to Paralympic gold -- an extraordinary tale of tragedy, resilience and triumph In 2012, Combat Engineer Curtis McGrath was serving in the Australian Army in Afghanistan when, in the line of duty, he stepped on a land mine. Seriously injured but still conscious and aware he'd bleed out and die within minutes, Curtis, as the unit's chief first-aid officer, directed his comrades to apply tourniquets and administer an IV and morphine. Then, as he was stretchered to a helicopter, fearing he would never see his family again, he joked that he planned to become a Paralympian. Just months later, Curtis was up and walking on prosthetic legs, motivated by the opportunity to march with his unit in their welcome-home ceremony. Kayaking gave him a new sense of purpose and, in 2013, he and his father, Paul, paddled more than 700 kilometres from Sydney to Brisbane to raise funds for Mates4Mates, which supports current and former Defence Force members. A year later, Curtis captained the Australian team at the inaugural Invictus Games in London, founded by Prince Harry for wounded, injured or ill veterans. Then, within four years of his injury, Curtis won gold at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Now a ten-time world champion gold medallist, Curtis recently stormed to victory at the Tokyo Paralympics to bring home two more Paralympic gold medals for Australia. Passionate about the power of sport to transform lives, he's ready at last to share his extraordinary story, and how he has approached every setback and challenge with courage, resilience, humour and grit.
Do the Paralympic Games empower the disability sport community? Like many other contemporary sporting institutions, the Paralympic Games have made the transition from pastime to spectacle, and the profile of athletes with disabilities has been increased as a result. This book reviews the current status of the Paralympics and challenges the mainstream assumption that the Games are a vehicle for empowerment of the disabled community. Using ethnographic methods unique in this area of study, P. David Howe has undertaken an innovative and critical examination of the social, political and economic processes shaping the Paralympic Movement. In The Cultural Politics of the Paralympic Movement he presents his findings and offers a new insight into the relationship between sport, the body and the culture of disability. In doing so he has produced the most comprehensive and radical text about high performance sport for the disabled yet published. P. David Howe is Lecturer in the Sociology of Sport at Loughborough University. He is also a four-time Paralympian and former Athlete’s Representative to the International Paralympic Committee.