Beyond the Finish Line: Bridging the Gap Between the Olympics and the Paralympics

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Photograph of Australian Paralympic team members at the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games in London

With over 4,000 athletes in 22 sports, Paralympic athletes have proved they’re fierce competitors. This summer, a record number of broadcasters and platforms are providing live coverage of the Paralympics, and the International Paralympics Committee (IPC) projects that the cumulative audience will reach over four billion. The message of the Paralympic Games is clear after athletes took to social media to let the public know that they “won’t be participating in the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games,” but instead, they will be “competing” with their fervent motivation to win. 

Although the 2024 Paralympic Games is set to be record-breaking in terms of viewership and athletic world records, high-performance funding for Paralympic athletes is limited. Funding is allocated for coaching, equipment and improving training environments. Specialized resources are necessary for Paralympic athletes, and those costs are significant. Because of this, athletes themselves only receive a small portion of funding. In addition to limited funding, the Paralympics are often viewed as a “side-show” for the Olympics, but luckily, with greater accessibility at venues and media coverage, the Paralympics and the Olympics are slowly reaching equal status. 

The IPC took another big step this year to overturn a previously controversial issue. When watching the Olympics, many athletes have noticeable tattoos of the Olympic rings. This trend began in 1988 when two time gold medalist swimmer Chris Jacobs displayed his tattoo of the rings on his right bicep. Since Jacobs, both Olympians and Paralympians choose to get Olympic ring tattoos, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the IPC created a rule stating that Paralympians had to cover their Olympic ring tattoos. 

This rule was implemented because the IPC and IOC are separate entities with different laws and different logos. While the Olympics’ logo is the recognizable five rings, the Paralympics’ logo is red, blue and green. The Paralympic logo comes from the word Agitos which is derived from the Latin definition “I move.” Because the IPC and the IOC use distinct logos, Paralympic athletes with the Olympic ring tattoo was considered a third party advertisement. In 2016, an IPC spokesperson explained this distinction to NBC Sports, saying, “displaying the Olympic rings confuses the public and impacts the understanding about the Paralympic brand, which is different to that of the Olympic one.” 

This rule resulted in the IPC requiring all Paralympic athletes with the Olympic ring tattoo to cover their tattoo completely during competition. Failure to cover the tattoo completely would result in penalties or even disqualification. 

Rudy Garcia-Tolson, a five-time Paralympic swimming medalist, said that, “It was just part of our routine … Before an event, it was: ‘All right, I need my cap, I need my goggles, I need my swimsuit and I need a Sharpie.’” Garcia-Tolson was initially disqualified during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics because the ink washed away during a race. He appealed, however, and won his case. 

Having the Olympic ring tattoo, however, is an important aspect of many Olympic and Paralympic athletes' time at the games. “For me, my journey to the Paralympics is those Olympic rings,” Garcia-Tolson expressed, “That’s what it signifies — the pursuit of being the best.”

Because of the significance of the tattoos, the IPC’s decision to remove the ban before the 2024 Paralympic games was desirable for many athletes. This decision came suddenly in an email from Craig Spence, the chief brand and communications officer for the IPC. In his email he said, “Athletes with such tattoos do not need to cover them up.” When asked to give further explanation, Spence declined to answer. 

Spence has been a long time advocate of equality between the Olympics and Paralympics. He even challenged the language bias surrounding the Paraympics, saying, “Paralympians have often been described in the media as ‘participants’ and not ‘competitors.’ At the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, it’s time we set the record straight.” 

This step makes an important milestone in the journey to bridge the gap between the Olympics and the Paralympics. With the Paralympics already underway, Olympic ring tattoos will be displayed proudly as Paralympians compete for the ultimate glory of a Paralympic medal. 

Sources:

https://www.paralympic.org/paris-2024/news/paralympians-not-participating-paris-2024-paralympics

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1148161/paris-2024-record-numbers-paralympics#:~:text=Over%20the%20next%2012%20days,live%20coverage%20produced%20and%20made

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-paralympic-athletes-olympic-peers.html#google_vignette

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/23/style/paralympics-olympic-rings-tattoo-ban.html

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/paralympics-olympics-rings-tattoo_n_66ceea44e4b054d20856e642

https://www.usmagazine.com/stylish/news/paralympic-athletes-will-no-longer-have-to-hide-olympic-rings-tattoos/