July 19, 2004
By LORI EWING

Wheelchair athletes can't march in ceremonies

TORONTO (CP) -The wheelchair athletes for Athens cannot march in the opening or closing ceremonies - although everyone from coaches to medical staff to mission staff are permitted to march. And the wheelchair athletes are only allowed to stay in the Athletes Village from August 20 to 24.

Caroline Assalian, the director of high performance sport and games for the Canadian Olympic Committee, had Adams' letter from the IOC tucked in her pocket Monday, and said she planned to do something about it.

"We consider the three Paralympic athletes as part of the Canadian team, we'll clothe them, they'll be they'll be living in the village, getting their accreditation, we go above and beyond the organizing committee," said Assalian. "They don't even give them beds in the village. That's ridiculous. They're going to be part of the Canadian team, we'll make space for them in the village."

The IOC trails Canada and other countries when it comes a progressive attitude toward wheelchair sports. As part of Canada's track and field contingent in Athens, Athletics Canada has invited the three wheelchair racers to the 10-day pre-Olympic training camp in Grosseto, Italy.

"There's only one class of athletes, so if you're on the team, you're treated equally just like everyone else," said Assalian.

Jeff Adams can race on the same night at the men's 100-metre final in Athens, but he can't march in the opening ceremonies.

Nor can he stay in the Athletes Village for more than four days. Nor is he part of the official Olympic delegation.

Adams was angry after he and the other 15 wheelchair athletes from around the world who are part of the track and field schedule at the Summer Olympics, received letters from the International Olympic Committee recently saying they would not receive the same treatment as the other athletes in Athens.

"It's really, really frustrating, because there's no logic to it," said Adams, 33. "We're on the same night as the 100-metre men's final, so there's some kind of realization it's a fun sport to watch, the top eight guys are going to be within a second and a half of each other, it's all of the things we want when we watch sports.

"But we've got this caveat in it where we're not part of the official delegation, and I don't understand why not."

Adams will race the men's 1,500 metres on Aug. 22 in Athens, one of two wheelchair demonstration events. He'll race the 800, 1,500 and 5,000 metres two weeks later at the Paralympic Games.

Chantal Petitclerc of Montreal and Diane Roy of Lac-des-Aigles, Que., will compete in the women's 800-metre wheelchair demo race.

Adams said he believes the IOC has its heart in the right place, but added it should be all or nothing - they should be treated the same as other athletes in Athens or not be there at all.

"Kick them out if that's what you want, or stop this quasi-second rate citizen treatment we're getting," said Adams, a six-time world champion and four-time Paralympian.

"I think we really need to take a stand. We saw this happen to black athletes 50 or 80 years ago, we saw it happen with women athletes. When you take a stand, things change.

"Canada has shown to be a leader in all of these arenas, and this is another time where we can really be a leader and make sure things can be done the right way."

The IOC has included wheelchair demonstration events in the Olympics since 1984, and the wheelchair races at track and field are the only demonstration sports still on the Olympic schedule.

reprinted with permission