Keisha Hill, Staff Reporter

Sylvia Grant

They defied the odds and fulfilled their dreams!

These individuals defeated the impending doom of Tropical Storm Gustav's untimely arrival to Jamaica and were able to spread their wings in one of the world's greatest architectural creations, the 'Birds Nest.'

It was the afternoon of August 28, that Tanto Campbell, Sylvia Grant, Vinette Green and Alphanso Cunningham were scheduled to leave the island for the 2008 Paralympic Games, in Beijing, China.

The Sir Donald Sangster Airport was scheduled to close at 2 p.m. and with the immediate threat of Gustav, departure plan was hastily changed. Off to a late start, the team made it just in the nick of time for a flight out to the Miami International Airport then to San Francisco.

Their turbulent journey culminated in Beijing, 24 hours after their scheduled arrival and if the impending tropical storm was any deterrent, delay in obtaining their luggage and equipment after three days waned their spirits even further.

Memorable

However, when the team bowed into action on September 7, Campbell lifted the spirits of his teammates, coming from seventh place in the first round, to clinch the bronze in the F-56 discus event, which was merged with the F-55 class.

Campbell, who plays wheelchair basketball as well, had also won a bronze medal at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. The 22-year-old, who has won more than nine medals in international competitions, including six gold, described his paralympic experience as memorable.

"It was exciting. I was exposed to different cultures, food and entertainment. I felt proud to represent Jamaica again," Campbell said.

His teammate Alphonso Cunningham echoed similar sentiments, stating that even though some persons were unable to pronounce the word Jamaica, they were welcomed and motivated by the athletes.

"We generated a lot of excitement at the Games. Even though we are physically challenged, we are happy to have been able to contribute to the joy now sweeping the country," Cunningham said.

Cunningham, the 2008 Paralympic F53 defending champion produced a season's best 25.90 metres for 1,032 points behind China's Liang Fan who threw a world record 31.08 metres 1,130 to win the gold.

Train hard

"It was an experience I have never had before," said coach of the Paralympic team, Errol Williams. According to Williams, unlike the able bodied athletes, paralympians train under adverse conditions but, at the end of the day they got results.

He stated that paralympians have to qualify from the regional level for the Paralympic Games, which made it even more difficult for them to make the paralympic team.

"Unlike able bodied athletes who qualify at the national trials, we have to compete with athletes from across the Caribbean at the regional level. We have to train twice as hard in order to make the team," Williams said.

Sylvia Grant, who was participating in her sixth Paralympic Games since winning her first bronze medal in Seoul in 1988, said she enjoyed the challenge. The 45-year-old, who has won an estimate of 20 medals in her long and illustrious career, indicated that it did not matter the language that everyone spoke but that each athlete was attached to the programme in some way.

Performed well

"It was the best Paralympic Games I have participated in. It was rough because they merged the classes but we have performed well over the years and it was good to know our hard work was acknowledged," Grant said.

Vinnette Green, who participated in the women's class F54 discus event, said she delivered her best performance but it was very difficult for her as three classes were merged - F54, F55 and F56.

"I went to the Paralympic Games for the experience and to win a medal. But the merging of the classes affected us as we were unable to match the bigger athletes," Green said.

Sport activity

After successfully completing their mission, the team of four athletes and three officials returned to Jamaica on September 20 following the conclusion of the games on September 17.

Chairman of the Jamaica Paralympic Association, Major General Robert Neish, said one important element of rehabilitation was sport activity.

"Paraplegic sports programmes foster ambition and these athletes can participate at the local and international level," he said.

He praised the team for their efforts and commended manager and chef-de-mission Dr Rory Dixon for pulling the team together.

Vinette Green

Tanto Campbell

Alphanso Cunningham