The 2008 Beijing Paralympics
Years of training. Sacrifice. Frustration. Motivation. Success. It’s time.
Go for the games. Go for the win. Go for the Gold.
September 6 through September 17 Hanger patients from across the country will meet in Beijing to compete in one of sports most prestigious events: The 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
Held the same year as the Olympic Games, the Paralympics is now the one of the largest sports competitions in the world.
The idea of an organized competition for people with disabilities began in 1948 when a World War II veteran with a spinal cord injury put together a sports competition in England. A few years later, a group from the Netherlands made the competition international. But it wasn’t until 1960 that Olympic style games were formally organized and given the name Paralympics.
Those first Paralympic games drew 400 participants from 23 countries. Today the Paralympics boasts over 3800 athletes from 136 countries and includes 20 different events for six different disability groups.
Hanger is proud to support our patients as they compete for the gold.
Visit the official website for the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games at http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn. For more information about the International Paralympic Committee, visit www.paralympic.org.
HANGER ATHLETES