Well, the 2012 Summer Paralympics have come and gone. Did you miss them? That’s too bad because everyone is saying these were the best ever. At the very least, they were the most popular Paralympics ever held.
Going Mainstream
Just weeks after the Summer Olympics closed in London, England, the Summer Paralympics began. The opening ceremony was held on August 29. A total of 4,294 athletes had come from all over the world to participate.
They competed in everything from Archery to Judo to track and field. When it was all said and done, China ended up finishing first with 95 Gold medals (and 231 medals total). Second place went to Russia with 36 gold medals, and the host country (Great Britain) managed to snag third place with 34 Gold medals.
The events were broadcasted on the UK’s well known Channel 4 station. Channel 4 aired approximately 150 hours of live coverage as well as additional coverage, clips, highlights, etc on affiliated stations. The amount of coverage shown on TV was unparalleled in the history of the games.
Unfortunately, this same enthusiasm was not met in America. NBC held the rights for the Paralympics in America. In total, they showed approximately 5 hours of footage on their NBC Sports channel, none of which was live. NBC had already received much criticism this year for their coverage on the Olympics in July and August.
Thankfully, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) broadcasted 150 hours of footage over YouTube for all to watch.
It Doesn’t Stop Here
Whether you watched the Paralympics as they happened or missed out this year, don’t worry. The 2014 Winter Paralympics will be happening in Sochi Russia shortly after the Winter Olympics. These games will feature the Paralympic debut of Parasnowboarding.
In the mean time, check out this link to see some of the highlights from the 2012 Games.
Or watch famous UK band Coldplay finish out the Paralympics closing ceremony below.