Iceland stages first Paralympic Day

Iceland‘s National Paralympic Committee (NPC) staged its first Paralympic Day in Reykjavik on 31 October, with the help of the country‘s most famous para-athletes.

Paralympic swimming champion Jon Margeir Sverrisson was on hand to showcase his sporting prowess to hundreds of members of the public at Iceland‘s only indoor athletics facility.

Despite not having a pool to swim in on the day, 200m freestyle S14 gold medallist Sverrisson tried out the long jump.

NPC Iceland reported that several hundreds of people attended the day, where they could see and try the sports offered by their clubs all around the country.

Wheelchair basketball was a huge success, providing encouraging signs in a country with a population of just 330,000 people where team sports have proved historically difficult to develop.

Various other sports clubs also reported a surge in interest in trying para-sport, giving hope that the next generation of national stars is waiting to be found.