The Daily Sketch: Paralympic Norms at London 2012
After 7 years of preparation and even more before that of imagination, London 2012 will officially reach its grand finale tonight as the petal cauldron is extinguished for the final time, and fireworks fill the skies in celebration of what has surely been the most spectacular Olympic and Paralympic games known to man.
In the parallel olympiad celebrated in Norm world, the Norm Paralympic Games have been a roaring success. Here we see the paralympic stars of the wheelchair 1500km. It’s the final lap, and crowd favourite, Normi the Brit, is on the outside lap, neck and neck for second place but doing everything in his Norm power to overtake Normski, the Russian paralympian currently taking the lead. Will the crowd spur Normi on to victory?
Meanwhile in the background, another paralympian Norm takes their turn in the wheelchair discus. These sporting achievements are a fantastic accomplishment for the paralympian Norms who, by reason of their bodies’ lost ability to bounce properly, have been rendered disabled and reliant upon a wheelchair for their transportation. Yet despite this obvious disadvantage in life, they have proved that any obstacle, no matter how severe, can be overcome with perseverance and strength of will. In this respect the Paralympic games have been a lesson for us as, and their legacy, rising from the ashes of the extinguished flame tonight, will surely live on for generations to come.
Paralympian Norms in the Wheelchair 1500km (2012 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, pen on paper)
© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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Lol, I’m sorry they’ve lost their bounce! They look quite bouncy to me. So, if the Norms are entered in the paralympics (that word never looks quite right, perhaps the word should be entered too?) does that mean that normal norms that have still got their bounce could be entered into the next olympics? Wouldn’t having just one arm be a bit a, um… armicap? 😉
Val, I do appreciate your concern for the Norms. I think that their bounce enough is sufficient to make them able bodied in the Norm sporting world as generally speaking it’s the predominant force behind their sporting movements. It’s true, their sporting pursuits are fairly limited by their one arm, but as they know no different, the Norm Paralympic committee (I agree, that word never does look right) will not allow well-armed Norms to compete. Nonetheless there is still plenty of room for other disabled Norms to compete – those with limited sight, those who have lost their white lustre, and even some with mental handicap. No Norm feels left out 😉