Paralympic Team Norway
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Paralympic Team Norway Media Guide Norwegian Paralympic Committee NORWAY IN 100 SECONDS Head of state: H.M. King Harald V IX P H.M. Queen Sonja PHOTO: SCAN Area (total): Norway 385.155 km2 - Svalbard 61.020 km2 - Jan Mayen 377 km2 Norway (not incl. Svalbard and Jan Mayen) 323.758 km2 Bouvet Island 49 km2 Peter Island 156 km2 Queen Maud Land Population (24.06.08) 4.768.753 Main cities (01.01.08) Oslo 560.484 Bergen 247.746 Trondheim 165.191 Stavanger 119.586 Kristiansand 78.919 Fredrikstad 71.976 Tromsø 65.286 Sarpsborg 51.053 Life expectancy: Men: 77,7 Women: 82,5 Length of common frontiers: 2.542 km - Sweden 1.619 km - Finland 727 km - Russia 196 km - Shortest distance north/south 1.752 km Length of the continental coastline 21.465 km - Not incl. Fjords and bays 2.650 km Greatest width of the country 430 km Least width of the country 6,3 km Largest lake: Mjøsa 362 km2 Longest river: Glomma 600 km Highest waterfall: Skykkjedalsfossen 300 m Highest mountain: Galdhøpiggen 2.469 m Largest glacier: Jostedalsbreen 487 km2 Longest fjord: Sognefjorden 204 km Prime Minister: Jens Stoltenberg Head of state: H.M. King Harald V and H.M. Queen Sonja Monetary unit: NOK (Krone) 16.07.08: 1 EUR = 7,90 NOK 100 CNY = 73,00 NOK PARALYMPICS It began as a dream The Parlympic movement began as a dream of the English neurosurgeon Sir Ludwig Guttman. He wan- ted to provide athletes with disabilities the opportunity to compete at an international level equivalent to that of nondisabled athletes i.e. an Olympics for athletes with disabilities. Originally started in 1948 as rehabilitation for injured Second World War Veterans, the Paralympic Games were formally held for the first time in Rome with 400 athletes representing 23 countries. The word “Paralympic” is commonly thought to have been taken from the word “Paraplegic”, but the fact is that “Para” is a Latin prefix for “with”, making the words’ literal translation “With Olympic”. The Paralympic Games have been parallel to the Olympic Games since inception. Rome, Italy, hosted the first Paralympic Summer Games in 1960. The 1988 Paralympic Summer Games in Seoul clearly shifted the Games from a “rehabilitation” model to one of sport and athletic competition. This is also when the city hosting the Olympic Summer Games also hosted the Paralympic Summer Games. Created in 1989, the Internatio- nal Paralympic Committee, IPC, coordinates and develops the Paralympic Games. The organi- sation has headquarters in Bonn, and Mr. Philip Craven from Great Britain serves as president. The IPC awards the Paralympics to a host city; determines the sports, disciplines and events included in the programme; invites NPCs to participate in each Paralym- pics; establishes a medical code for Paralympic participants that includes the testing of banned substances; administers the sale of worldwide Paralympic marketing rights; and oversees the activities of the Organising Committees of the Paralympics. INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE IPC VISION, MOTTO, SYMBOL Vision To Enable Paralympic Athletes to Achieve Sporting Excellence and Inspire and Excite the World. Each word in the vision has a clear meaning in defining the ultimate aim of the IPC: • To enable: this is the primary role of the IPC as an organization - to create the conditions for athlete empowerment through self-determination. • Paralympic athletes: the primary focus of IPC’s activities, in the context of Paralympic athletes, is the development of all athletes from initiation to elite level. • To achieve sporting excellence: the goal of the IPC as a sports centred organization. • To inspire and excite the world: the external result is our contribution to a better world for all people with a disability. To achieve this, relations with external organizations and the promotion of the Paralympic Move- ment as a whole are of prime importance. Motto The spirit of every Paralympic athlete is uncompromising - every day exceeding what others had thought was possible by pushing themselves to the limit. With the motto ‘Spirit in Motion’, the IPC has captured what the Paralympic Movement is trying to achieve: enabling athletes from all backgrounds to unite on a single stage, inspiring and exciting the world with their performances. Symbol The new Paralympic Symbol (logo) was launched in 2003. It is a symbol in motion, with three Agitos (from the Latin meaning ‘I move’) encircling a centre point; emphazising the role that the IPC has of bringing athletes from all corners of the world together and enabling them to compete. It also emphazises the fact that Paralympic athletes are constantly inspiring and exciting the world with their performances - always moving forward and never giving up. The new Paralympic Symbol consists of three elements in red, blue and green - the three colours that are most widely represented in national flags around the world. The previous symbol incorporated the Tae-Geuk, which is a traditional Korean decorative motif. Tae-Geuks were first used in a symbol at the 1988 Paralympic Games in Seoul, Korea. At that time, the symbol consisted of five Tae-Geuks in a configuration and in colours similar to the Olympic Rings, ie, blue, black, red, yellow and green. In 1991, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) requested that the IPC modify its symbol, if the symbol was to be used for marketing purpo- ses. The IOC Marketing Department considered the symbol with five Tae- Geuks too similar to the five Olympic Rings, and hence a point of potential confusion for the IOC Sponsorship Programme. The configuration of five Tae-Geuks was allowed to be used at the 1994 Paralympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway. A Paralympic Symbol with three Tae-Geuks was officially launched on a worldwide level at the 1994 World Champions- hips for IPC Sports and ‘Mind, Body, Spirit’ was adopted as the Paralympic motto, which has now been replaced by the motto ‘Spirit in Motion’. The Tae-Geuks were in limited use until the Closing Ceremony of the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games. When handing over the flag to Bei- jing, a flag with the new symbol was used. From then on, the old symbol is no longer in use. (© IPC) CHEF DE MISSION Well prepared, cautiously optimistic Team Paralympic Norway is well prepared for 11 days of competition at an advanced international level. The athletes and managers look forward to this year’s Paralympic Games in Beijing. With 24 active participants, our goal is to take more than the five medals we won in Athens in 2004. Norway is participating in nine different disciplines and will compete in 39 starts/events. The biggest discipline is dressage riding in Hong Kong, with five riders. This is a sport in which we have won medals in the past. Ann Catrin Lübbe and Jens Lasse Dokkan are considered to be our best chances at a medal. We also have five swimmers. Mariann Vestbøstad and Cecilie Drabsch Norland are said to be among the best. Cecilie will be defending the gold and the bronze from Athens. The table tennis duo Tommy Urhaug and Rolf Erik Paulsen are world champions in wheelchair doubles. Tommy was also individual world champion in 2007. Can he take his first Paralympic medal in China, the home of table tennis? Roger Aandalen will be defending his gold medal from Athens in Bocci. For the sailors in Quingdao, Bjørnar Erikstad in the 2.4mR and Sonaren, with Jostein Stordahl as skipper, both have a real chance at a medal. In athletics (track and field events), Elin Holen in long jump, and Runar Steinstad in the javelin have good training programmes, and mere centimetres can be enough to turn the scales. We are also excited about our Paralympic debutants in shooting and archery. These are disciplines with very small margins of error. In cycling we have a man, Morten Jahr, who is participating in four starts. He is giving thought to the discipline of road race for best results. Norway has previously been among the best nations in the Paralym- pics, but in recent years we have fallen behind. A number of countries have made a far greater commitment than Norway ever has. A good example of this is the Ukraine. In Sydney, the Ukraine placed 35th, win- ning 37 medals in all, 3 of them gold. Four years later, in Athens, they won 55 medals in all, 24 of them gold, and were the 6th best nation. Norway took 15 medals, 2 of them gold, in Sydney. In Athens, we won 5 medals, 3 of them gold. In the competition for medals, we have fallen from 28th place to 42nd place from Sydney to Athens. Many nations are going all out with a huge amount of funding. Norway continues to have limited resources to go all out. Furthermore, a number of disciplines are struggling with recruitment problems. To improve things, it is important that more disciplines get trainers who can give the athletes better follow-up. It is the sports associations that are responsible for disabled athletes; this is where the foundation for future results is laid. ”Olympiatoppen” intends to make the best better” – whether they are disabled or not. That’s why we have established a good dialogue with the sports associations, in order to pave the way for a full commitment. One consequence of this is a collaboration in Team Paralympics, where 14 sports associations have joined with “Olympiatoppen” in an agreement designed to provide a bet- ter financial framework for these sports. The Norwegian teams in Beijing, Hong Kong and Quigdao are well prepared. Optimism is ski-high. Our sports fans are in for a real TV treat! Not since the Paralympics in Lillehammer in 1994 has Norsk Riks- kringkasting, the national broadcasting company, planned such extensive coverage as they intend to provide in Beijing.