Exhibition Events in Edmonton - When Everything Comes Down
to Pure Athleticism

After a spring season taken up by the selection of athletes -some by selection races, others by making sure they were high up the rankings- the competitors for the Exhibition events at the I.A.A.F. World Championships finally reached their destination high on the Canadian Plains in the city of Edmonton in early August.

They had come from fifteen countries and four continents to contest the six events being staged in front of a crowd of appreciative spectators and a worldwide TV audience. For the first time ever, more than two events were to be held on this world stage. In the past, only wheelchair athletes had had the opportunity to show their prowess until 1999, when, in Sevilla, blind athletes had their chance to show what they were capable of doing, too. This time, both the blind and wheelchair athletes could show their ability, as well as the best amputee athletes on the track.

The events were staged in pairs, with the amputee events first. The men's 200 meters event was a wonderful example of what Paralympic athletes can do, with the crowd breathless with appreciation of Neil Fuller's run and his time of 23.32 seconds. Fuller was closely followed by Marcus Ehm (Germany) and Dominique Andre (France). The surprise and excitement of watching how fast leg amputees are capable of running was evident in the faces of all those in the crowd. The women's race brought a double Gold for Australia, with Amy Winters bringing a smile not only to her own face, but also to her team management, who were enjoying the fact that at least part of their team could bring home success, even if none of the others were doing it. They were also expressing the fact that, even if the medals didn't count in the official table, they were certainly counting them back home as Golds! For me, there was disappointment, in that we hadn't been able to field a full race of either leg or arm amputees in the women's race, and had been forced to have a mixed group, and that this fact had not been explained to the crowd or the television audience properly.

A day later and the blind sprinters were on show, with the women's 200 meters bringing a rematch of Brazil versus Spain from Sydney 2000. As on that occasion, Adria Santos took the Gold, beating one of the greatest Paralympians ever, Purificacion Santamarta, convincingly. The men's race was one of the best Exhibition events ever, clearly demonstrating the depth of talent we have in our sport, with the first three home within twelve hundredths of a second - about a meter - and all four home within three meters of each other. Lorenzo Ricci (Italy) was the winner, and his tears on the medal rostrum brought several comments from spectators, including one from a Canadian journalist who made this his moment of the Games, choosing it over all the other sparkling performances he had seen. I met the Italian Athletics President the following day, as he was preparing to present the Gold medal to the Italian Long Jumper, Fiona May, and he told me they would be having their second big party that night, having had a huge one the night before, for Lorenzo.

The two wheelchair events didn't come for several more days, towards the end of the Championships, which gave the Canadian press and television, who had had little success to write about, the chance to talk about their expectations for Jeff Adams and Chantal Peticlerc. Chantal had been involved in the classic 800 meters race in Sydney, in which the Jury had ordered a rerun after a crash, and the decision had been overruled by the Court of Arbitration on Sport. In that race she had beaten Louise Sauvage of Australia, and clearly, there was a score to be settled as both athletes wanted a win to confirm their world ranking. Another win wasn't to be though, as Sauvage took the lead in the first lap, and was never overtaken. A close finish saw Ariadne Hernandez (Mexico) take Silver and Wakako Tsuchido the Bronze. It was the men's 1500 meters which had the crowd on the edge of their seats, though, not only because Jeff Adams, the home boy, was doing so well in the race, but because this was one of the best wheelchair races ever held at a major Championships. Heinz Frei (Switzerland) took the lead early, held it for the first two laps and was then overtaken by Adams, who did everything he could to hold the lead, but in a bruising last lap was finally overtaken in the home straight by Aaron Gordian (Mexico). He held on to the Silver though, and was treated as a hero by the home crowd, winning Canada's only medal and making the front page of all the newspapers and the TV news. The first six home were all within less than two meters of each other.

The event was a great success for the Paralympic Athletics movement, not just because our athletes gave a great demonstration of their ability, but the technical organization was the equal of the rest of the competition and the excitement and pleasure the events gave was at least the equal of the rest of the Championships.

It is important in this report to mention those who ensured the success of the event. My own liaison officer in Edmonton, Rick Gingras, did a great job in preparing the ground for the arrival of the athletes. He was then able to ensure all the right people were available to meet and discuss the needs of the events, particularly where the different rules meant that officials had to be aware of the changes. The officials themselves did a good job, showing real enthusiasm for the events. Competition management ensured equal treatment for the events, and we were able to meet Bill Bailey, competition manager in Sydney, who was the I.A.A.F. Technical Delegate, as well as several other international officials, all of whom were very helpful.

Possibly the most important thing is that the athletes and the good organization has given us the chance to do it again, and show the world in Paris, two years from now what a great sport Paralympic Athletics is. We already have an agreement to show six events again there. And all this provided by a group of volunteers!!

Chris Cohen
IPC Chairman, Athletics