Sauvage 1999 Female Athlete of the Year

Five-time world record holder Louise Sauvage became the first athlete with a disability to win one of the Confederation of Australian Sport's annual 'Sports Awards' when she was named 1999 Female Athlete of the Year. The significance of her win was underlined by the fact the other nominations were champion golfer Karrie Webb and Olympic gold medallist swimmer Susie O'Neill. Sauvage's versatility in wheelchair racing is unmatched as she not only holds the 200m sprint world record but is also 'Queen of the Road' by claiming her third consecutive Boston marathon (42.6km) in April 1999. Her four other world records are for 1500m, 5000m, the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. Another world record holder in Australian sport today, swimmer Ian Thorpe, won the 1999 Male Athlete of the Year.

The Kuwait Disabled Sport Club
A Portrait

Ali Fahad Al-Ghannam is member of the board of directors of the Kuwait Disabled Sport Club, the National Paralympic Committee of Kuwait. At the IPC General Assembly, Dr. Susanne Reiff had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Al-Ghannam about sport for disabled athletes in his country.

The Paralympian: Mr. Al-Ghannam, how has sport for athletes with a disability developed in Kuwait?
Al-Ghannam: Up to 1977, disabled sport was integrated in regular sport clubs. However, those clubs were not able to give enough attention to athletes with a disability. Therefore, the Kuwait Disabled Sport Club was established. Actually, Kuwait was the first country in the Golf region to develop sport specifically for the disabled.

TP: What are the major aims of the Club?
AG: In general, we try to integrate disabled persons into society by promoting their sport, social, cultural, and other activities. The club also contributes to the physical, psychological and social rehabilitation of its members. We have become rather an umbrella organization than only a sport club. This is also the reason, why we will soon change our name from "club" to "federation".

TP: Which are the main activities the club offers to its members?
AG: Our main focus is on sporting activities, but we also have many social and cultural programs, for instance a choir, painting classes and a library with access to the internet. The social committee also offers trips to social and cultural events outside the club. Members receive discounts for shopping or airline tickets from various companies as part of their campaigns for supporting disabled people.

TP: How many members does the club have?
AG: We are counting more than 1,500 members at the moment, who come from all disability groups. At the beginning, our program was limited to blind athletes and those with Cerebral Palsy. The members come from more than 17 different nationalities, which makes us almost an international club. Around 80 per cent of them are male and 20 per cent female.

TP: Do the athletes in your club have appropriate training facilities?
AG: I think that our sporting facilities are the best in the Middle East, if not even in all Asia. Our track and field stadium is equipped with an autofinish, electronic scoring and a huge screen. We also own a big gymnasium including a physiotherapy section with excellent equipment. Even people from the United States came to see these superb facilities.

TP: Which sports do you offer? Where do you see the strengths of your athletes?
AG: The paralympic sports offered by the club are athletics (track and field), swimming, wheelchair basketball, table tennis, powerlifting, fencing, boccia and goal ball. We hope to win medals in fencing, powerlifting and discus at the Paralympic Games in Sydney, where we plan to participate with 20 or 22 athletes. In fencing, Tariq Al Qallaf from Kuwait is the number one of the world ranking list in the men's epee class A. A few years ago, we even took part in ice hockey championships. We had never trained before and achieved great results.

TP: How is your relationship with the able-bodied sport movement in Kuwait?
AG: Fortunately, we have a very good relationship. Whenever there is a tournament in Kuwait, we try to be involved with demonstration events. Especially in fencing, there are strong bonds. Able-bodied athletes even competed in wheelchairs against athletes with a disability.

TP: Where do you see the most pressing problems for the Middle East region in regard to sport for athletes with a disability?
AG: There are not enough competitions in our region. Therefore, I would suggest to combine regions in order to give the athletes more opportunities to compete.

TP: Mr. Al-Ghannam, thank you for this interview.