Paralympic chief challenges Brisbane 2032 organizers to top the success of Sydney
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — There was no better day to urge the people of Brisbane to do better than the benchmarks Sydney set for the Paralympics.
International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons' visit to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic host city Wednesday coincided with the start of the annual rugby league grudge match that is the State of Origin series.
'Without doubt, the year 2000 was a gamechanger and provided the foundations from which we could advance the Paralympic Games and wider Paralympic movement,' Parsons told a gathering at a Brisbane riverside restaurant, hyping Sydney's overwhelming success in staging the Olympics and Paralympics almost 25 years ago.
'After the tremendous success of Barcelona 1992, and the troublesome experiences of Atlanta 1996, the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games got the Paralympic movement back on track with a sensational showcase of sport.'
Challenge set
Sydney is the capital of New South Wales state. Brisbane, capital of Queensland state, has another seven years to prepare and improve on that Games legacy.
The sporting rivalry between the neighboring eastern Australian states is intense, with the three-match Origin series highlighting the Queensland desire to upstage big sister, Sydney.
Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Games in 2021 but it took more than 1,340 days before a new state government finalized the venue plans that center around a new main stadium and aquatics venue built in a downtown parkland precinct.
What Sydney did to raise the profile of athletes, ticket sales and broadcast audiences for the Paralympics, Brisbane organizers aim to do in terms of setting new benchmarks for accessibility in the design of venues, buildings and transport.
'You've got to get to a point as a global look at accessibility, in other words people with disabilities, as being standard in the design. As First Nations, and including their culture, as standard in what we do. Environment, and certification of buildings and treating the environment well, as standard," Andrew Liveris, president of the Brisbane 2032 organizing committee, said. 'We're not there (yet), but we can set that standard. We will be, as an Olympic and Paralympic Games, the standard bearer."
With the start of venue construction and the finalizing of the sports program not expected until late next year, Liveris said there's time to ensure the end results are accounted for in the planning.
A big ticket item
Parsons said Sydney was the first Paralympics to sell tickets — 1.2 million were sold and Australia topped the medal standings. It launched a new era for the Games. There were 2.5 million tickets sold for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, where 4,400 Para athletes competed and 168 national Paralympic Committees sent teams.
'In terms of ticket sales, the Paralympic Games are now the world's third biggest sport event with only the Olympic Games and men's FIFA World Cup selling more,' Parsons said, adding that Paralympic-related internet searches 'broke the 1 billion barrier.'
'The main driver for the increasing global appeal of the Paralympic Games is the constantly improving quality of sport, level and depth of competition, and the performances of Para athletes,' Parsons said. 'Progress in the last 25 years has been emphatic.'
Based on his past visits and his knowledge of planning already, Parsons said Brisbane is 'starting from a position of strength definitely in terms of accessibility."
'But you can always improve," he added. 'We cannot be satisfied until we have 100% of everything accessible, and I'm absolutely sure that this is the objective here.'
___
AP Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
John Pye, The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Alex Post: Aspiring, inspirational swimmer
BROOKINGS, SD (KELO) — There are no lazy summer afternoons lounging by the pool for a Brookings man. Instead, Alex Post is jumping into the water as part of his training to become a world-class swimmer. Oldham-Ramona-Rutland School Board facing a lawsuit His rigorous workouts are an inspiration to others who may be facing challenges of their own. Post swims dozens of laps in the pool at the Miller Wellness Center at SDSU. 'Very exhausting. Especially if I do about half of them are backstrokes, the rest is more of the butterflies and that's a lot harder for me,' Post said. Post is constantly trying to improve his time. 'I could swim in a 25-meter, I think my best time is 45-seconds, which is really good for a guy like me,' Post said. Post, 24, has been swimming for much of his life. But just a couple months ago, he discovered he could swim without a life jacket. And that would plunge him into uncharted waters. 'At first, I was afraid to swim. I thought I was going to drown. And so, I finally had to get past that fear and just do it,' Post said. You see, he swims without any legs. 'I was born with the rare genetic disease called arthrogryposis which affects muscle and bone,' Post said. A dozen years ago, Post decided to have his legs surgically removed. 'A lot of my joints are frozen into place. They can't move and so I knew I was never going to be able to walk with my legs so I told my parents I wanted to remove my legs,' Post said. Now he aspires to compete in the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. But first, he'll have to compete in preliminary events at the regional and national level. Whenever Post is in the water, he's overflowing with confidence. 'He's driven, super-outgoing, confident and then the biggest thing is he's reliable. Every day he wants to get better,' Post's coach and caregiver Scott Ault said. South Dakota's fall pheasant outlook is 'very positive' 'I push myself and it gets tough sometimes because the muscles hurt. Everything's going to hurt and I know that I'm going to get there,' Post said. Post is staying in his lane in pursuing his paralympic dream. But he's looking beyond his own ambitions to bring hope to others. 'I'm not just trying to inspire people with disabilities. But people that think they're not good enough in life, that want to give up and I just want to show people there's no point in giving up, there's something that you can do,' Post said. Leaving a legacy of determination and drive in his wake. 'One of the things my mother always said was: you shoot for the moon and if you don't get there, you'll still fall amongst the stars. And that's Alex in a nutshell,' Ault said. Post is a client of Right at Home In-Home Care & Assistance. The Sioux Falls-based company is sponsoring his Paralympics quest. He is looking for additional help. If you'd like to be a sponsor, we have a link to his Facebook page. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Socceroos ready for dark arts duel with Saudis
With the World Cup in touching distance, the Socceroos are ready to tackle whatever obstacles Saudi Arabia throw at them - and respond with some dark arts of their own. After a heroic 1-0 win over Japan put Australia on the brink of direct qualification for next year's finals in North America, Tony Popovic's charges flew to Jeddah on Friday. Australia face familiar foes Saudi Arabia, who beat Bahrain 2-0, on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEST) knowing anything other than losing by five goals will seal qualification. The Saudis (13 points, 0 goal difference) have everything to gain - hoping to leapfrog Australia (16 points, +8 goal difference) into the second automatic qualification spot behind Japan. Musab Aljuwayr bags his second goal in the #AsianQualifiers with this beauty ✨#BHRvKSA — #AsianQualifiers (@afcasiancup) June 5, 2025 Midfielder Connor Metcalfe is prepared for any curveballs coming the Socceroos' way. "I'm expecting delays at the airport. I'm expecting a really bad pitch to train on. I'm expecting loads of, I don't know, bus delays before the game," he said. "I'm just expecting they're probably just going to throw everything at us because they know what they need to do, and they're just going to make it as difficult as possible." A hostile environment awaits at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, but Metcalfe is adamant Australia are ready to play their part in frustrating the parochial crowd. "I think we're gonna have to play a little bit of their game as well," he said. "Whether we waste time and delay the game as much as we can. "Because it's going to be like that. There's going to be a lot of diving, a lot of acting. "But it's just block the noise out, focus on ourselves and do the best we can." Above all, Metcalfe says the players have to "stick together". "You can't get affected by any of it, because if you get affected by any of their little games or noise or whatever it is, then it's just going to affect the game, and they're going to get that little advantage over you," he said. A training camp in Abu Dhabi has Australia prepared for the sweltering conditions that await. "We know what we're gonna be up against. We've played them before," Metcalfe said. "We played them in Jeddah before as well, and it's gonna be a tough game in the conditions as well. "It's probably gonna be close to 40 degrees, with 50,000 fans screaming, so it's gonna be difficult, but I think we're all mentally prepared for it. "And of course, we want to beat them on their home turf as well, in front of all their fans." St. Pauli midfielder Metcalfe, 25, is ready to make an impact, after starting against Japan in his first game back since a series of injuries. "It's been a long, long journey, tough ride, but it was amazing being back out there," he said. "Just being involved in a win as well in front of a home crowd was a special feeling. Just love it."
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Payten declares Maroons must pick star to win Origin
North Queensland coach Todd Payten says if Queensland want to win the second State of Origin match to level the series they need to start Tom Dearden in the halves. Dearden is favoured to replace veteran Maroons skipper Daly Cherry-Evans for the must-win match in Perth, with the Cowboys captain consistently delivering for his NRL team. Cherry-Evans, 36, failed to ignite the Queensland attack in game one in Brisbane, which NSW dominated to win 18-6. While Kiwi Test halfback Jahrome Hughes starred for Melbourne in their 38-14 victory over North Queensland at AAMI Park on Friday night, Dearden still impressed in the losing side. Watch all the highlights as the Storm take on the Cowboys in Round 14!#NRLStormCowboys — NRL (@NRL) June 6, 2025 Payten was firm in his belief that the 24-year-old was ready to be picked to wear the No.7 jersey rather than have a bench role for the June 18 match. Dearden has already done the job for the Kangaroos, steering Australia to victory over Tonga in the Pacific Cup final last November, while he also impressed in the Maroons No.6 jumper in the absence of Cameron Munster last year. "You're asking the wrong person, I know he's ready, it's just not my decision," Payten said after the Storm match. "Selfishly, I'd love him to come off the bench, but if they want to win, I'd be putting him in the halves." Dearden downplayed the selection quandary for Queensland coach Billy Slater, saying he was only focused on the Cowboys. "I wasn't really looking at it as an audition," he said. "I thought like I probably could have been a lot better with helping us with direction and then handing the ball over in the right area, so there's probably a few areas I need to look at from that performance." Melbourne skipper Harry Grant, who had an uncharacteristically poor Origin outing after being hobbled by a hamstring injury, looked back to his best against North Queensland. "I had a pretty clear focus of what I needed to work on from that (Origin) game it sort of hurt not being able to play after that, against the Titans, and that was just precautionary with the hamstring," the hooker said. "I had a pretty narrow focus and it was pleasing to just get a win for the team and everyone sort of played their role within our game plan." His Storm teammate Stefano Utoikamanu also put his hand up to replace Mitch Barnett in the NSW squad, with the Warriors prop ruled out for the season with an ACL rupture. Utoikamanu and Keaon Koloamatangi are the favourites to take Barnett's spot with the Melbourne forward named 19th man in the Blues squad for game one when he was on stand-by for an injured Payne Haas. Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy, who is an advisor to the NSW coach Laurie Daley and will join the squad in Perth, said Utoikamanu had pushed his case for selection. "You think he'd be right up there in the firing line, I think he's a real big chance," Bellamy said. "He was really solid, and some of his runs really stood out and I'm sure Laurie will be looking at his defence as well and hopefully for Stef, he'll line up in the next game."
