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World focus on Paralympic movement history
SATURDAY saw only 200 days to the Paralympic Games and Stoke Mandeville, their birthplace, is fast becoming the focus of attention by the world’s media.
Japan, Slovenia and this week Brazil have sent television crews to the Stadium and athletics track that hosted the 1984 Games, to talk to veteran athletes who made Paralympic history. And more are expected.
This has delighted Buckinghamshire County Council’s Ruth Page, who is heading the Mandeville Legacy project, which is celebrating the local heritage of the Paralympic Games.
“People across the world are getting very excited about the 2012 Paralympic Games, because this is the year they’re coming home,” said Ruth.
Coming home, because Stoke Mandeville hosted the first ever wheelchair games in 1948, the year Britain last hosted the Olympic Games. Ruth said the games had grown out of pioneering work by neurosurgeon Dr Ludwig Guttmann at Stoke Mandeville Hospital that incorporated sport as an essential part of rehabilitation after spinal injury.
“We’ve collected photographs and interviews from people who remember Dr Guttmann and the early games at Stoke Mandeville Hospital,’ said Ruth. And as the 200-day milestone approached the Heritage Lottery Fund told Ruth the Mandeville Legacy had been awarded a £45,000 grant for an oral history project recording the memories of past Paralympians.
“The Mandeville Legacy is already an incredibly valuable resource, which is being drawn on by the world’s media, and this funding enables us to gather more extraordinary stories and tell a fuller story of the history of the Paralympic movement from its origins at Stoke Mandeville Hospital,” said Ruth.
Buckinghamshire County Council Leader Martin Tett, who has put his energy into ensuring Buckinghamshire residents have ample opportunity to celebrate the Games, said: “As a host county, we’re incredibly proud that we have this unique legacy to celebrate and to share with generations to come.”
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Weather for Leighton Buzzard
Wednesday 23 May 2012
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Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
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