The Rio 2016 Paralympic Games: inspiration as a possible legacy for disabled Brazilians

Abstract

This work is part of a larger qualitative and exploratory study that investigated the legacies of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (PG) in Brazil. We conducted in-depth open interviews with 24 disability rights activists and people in Paralympic sport managerial positions. The goal of this paper is to explore one of the main perceived legacies: inspiration. For the participants, the PG were inspiring for disabled people (DP) because they showed the capabilities of DP, revealed new possibilities for their lives, and motivated them to engage in or remain engaged in sports. They were also inspiring for non-disabled people (NDP) because the examples of athletes ‘overcoming’ their impairments and related environmental and social barriers, motivated people to reconsider their own reality. While some participants criticised hero/super-hero narratives, most argued that these narratives are also common regarding NDP and that DP should not be treated differently. For them, these narratives still have some positive potential.

Keywords:

• Paralympic Games
• disabled people
• legacies
• inspiration
• Rio 2016

Disclosure statement

We declare that there are no conflicts of interest that could have interfered with the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brazil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001.