Euan MacDonald (of disabled access review website, Euan’s Guide) talks us through his favourite moments from Rio 2016.
I always knew that I’d have a dilemma on September 19th – what in the world do I watch now? The Paralympics in Rio this year have been addictive, spectacular and totally inspirational. I would love to watch it all over again! There were some moments in particular that I can’t forget, and it all kicked off with an impressively creative and moving opening ceremony, which I loved.
Did you see that extreme wheelchair jump? It was an incredible feat by Aaron ‘Wheelz’ Fotheringham who pulled off the stunt, flying through an arch of fireworks to a roaring crowd. The music, dancing and colour that followed was great fun, and I loved the effect of the surfers on skateboards.
At Euan’s Guide, we had already interviewed athlete Ben Rowlings and former wheelchair basketballer Ade Adepitan in the run up to the games, so the anticipation had been building for a while. I had selected my top picks early on, but I was pleased to say that I found some new favourites as the games progressed! New to the Paralympics, Sprint Canoeing was hard to watch as the races were so close! It was brilliant to see Team GB’s Jeanette Chippington take Gold I the K1 200m KL1.
Murderball, or Wheelchair Rugby, has always been my favourite sport to watch at the Paralympics. It didn’t disappoint and I spent the last Sunday of the games watching the finals. Equally as fierce and competitive was the Goalball this year. I remember watching Brazil on day one as they won both matches against USA and Sweden.
Of course, Gordon Reid has been phenomenal to watch in the Wheelchair Tennis, and I’ve loved catching up with all the gripping swimming events! It was great to see Matthew Wylie take Gold in the swimming final. One more moment that I can’t forget was when Kadeena Cox took her second Gold medal in a different sport – that was amazing!
We shared all of our highlights on Euan’s Guide throughout the games. You can read the best bits on Euan’s Guide.
Euan MacDonald is the co-founder of Euan’s Guide, the disabled access review website. Ten years after his Motor Neurone Disease (MND) diagnosis, Euan created the website with his sister Kiki as a way to share and discover accessible places to go socialise and have fun.