Christie Raleigh-Crossley, a 37-year-old member of Team USA, may have initially set her eyes on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. However, following a pair of traffic incidents that took place within 15 months, and subsequently halting her athletics career to give birth to her three kids, she had her first ever Paralympic show on Thursday, setting a new world record in the process.
In 2022, Raleigh-Crossley started her para swimming career. Merely two years later, there’s a chance she could achieve her dream of returning to her home in New Jersey with four medals from the Paris Games.
Her time in para swimming has been tarnished with allegiations that she’s manipulating the grading system, used to categorise athletes according to their impairments. In para swimming, the lower your grading, the more severe your impairment.
Raleigh-Crossley, due to her neurological impairments, competes in the S9 and S10 categories, despite the cynics.
Indeed, she’s a formidable competitor. Taking part in the second heat of the S10 50m freestyle on Thursday morning, Raleigh-Crossley achieved a record time of 27.28, chipping away 0.09 from the past record set at the Rio Games in 2016. An impressive feat for her inaugural Paralympic outing.
Although she didn’t secure gold in the final and saw the world record go to China’s Yi Chen who clocked 27.10, Raleigh-Crossley took the silver with a record of 27.38.
Another sport for the nation?
Two Irish Paralympians reached the finals on Thursday at La Défense Arena, where Team Ireland earned three of its latest Olympic medals.
Nicole Turner secured a sixth-place finish in the S6 50m freestyle swimming event, while Róisín Ní Riain stood fourth in the S13 100m butterfly. Despite her preferred event being backstroke, Ní Riain’s achievement didn’t go unnoticed and there are still high expectations for her in her upcoming three events. Not forgetting, Turner is a celebrated silver medalist from the Tokyo Games, with her specialty being the S6 50m butterfly. Ellen Keane holds her championship title in the SB8 100m breaststroke. It sure seems like swimming is becoming a principal sport for our people.
Reflecting back to the Paris Olympics, one can hardly forget the overwhelming social media response garnered by Tara Davis-Woodhall’s long jump at the Stade de France. One particular member in the spectators’ stand stood out – Her husband, Hunter Woodhall, whose expressions of joy become viral when his wife bagged the gold. He was seen celebrating saying, “Baby, you’re the Olympic champion! Oh my God, you did it,” as they embraced post the event. Now, the tables turn as it’s Hunter’s turn to participate in the Paralympics, with Tara supporting him from the stands. Hunter, a double leg amputee, will compete in the T64 100m event on Sunday, followed by T62 400m on September 6th.
Bringing up an important issue is Jürgen Klopp, ex-Liverpool manager. His remarks on the insignificant coverage given to Paralympic games compared to the Olympics drew attention. He expressed this concern while in Paris, during the first day of the Paralympic games. Klopp, a regular viewer of the Games, shared his difficulty in finding proper coverage of the event. He made this point even though his friend Wojtek Czyz is a distinguished 10-time Paralympic medalist. A timely point noted.
These days, the plethora of streaming options should make it simpler to view more Paralympic content, although we may not be tapping into the full potential. There’s a broad appetite to watch the Paralympics that we aren’t fully satisfying.
During the recent Olympic Games, there was, as expected, a higher prevalence of cameras. The ball has to start rolling somewhere. Yes, broadcasting is entirely a business, and I acknowledge that. Nonetheless, it is imperative to display more Paralympic content, as it is truly inspiring and delightful.
RTÉ, our national broadcaster, intends to air 104 hours from the current Games, a modest increase from the 99 hours during the London 2012. Thus, it’s a step in the correct path.
In 1960, the inaugural Paralympic Games saw 23 countries, including Ireland, taking part. The Paris 2024 is projected to witness participation from 169 nations or teams.
“I’m honoured to be a part of the Paralympics, especially as a member of a formidable team. Being in a favourable position is an added boost to my motivation,” said Ellen Keane, who is looking forward to her first swim at her final Paralympic Games.