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Hard to watch! Paralympic champion given the worst gifts ever

<p>A Spanish Paralympic cyclist has been given the worst trophy gifts in history, with his calm and collected reaction making waves online. </p> <p>Ricardo Ten Argiles was last week crowned world champion in three separate events at the 2023 UCI World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.</p> <p>During the post race ceremonies, he was presented with two gold medals, along with two very surprising gifts from the event's major sponsor: international watch company Tissot.</p> <p>The 47-year-old was gifted not one, but TWO watches in a fancy display case, despite having both his arms amputated at the forearm. </p> <p>A video of Ten keeping a straight face while being handed one of the watches has started to spread across the internet with more than 800,000 views.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Not a very well thought gift. <a href="https://t.co/hRhaTfnGsE">pic.twitter.com/hRhaTfnGsE</a></p> <p>— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) <a href="https://twitter.com/OutOfCycling/status/1691136594747469836?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>One video shows Ten standing on the podium and exchanging some friendly words with an official as he holds the watch case tightly between his arms. </p> <p>Understandably, the mortifying moment has been met with outrage and black humour. </p> <p>The athlete himself has been laughing off the incident and has embraced the way his social media pages have exploded with comments.</p> <p>Many of the comments suggested that Ten regift the expensive watches at Christmas, while others wondered how officials at the event could've let the awkward gifts happen. </p> <p>Despite the outrage from fans, Ten responded to one news story about the “tactless blunder” by writing on Twitter, “I am very happy to have won two TISSOTs, one for each arm, but above all for what it means for Paralympic cycling, total inclusion of the sport at the highest level”.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Twitter</em></p>

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Paralympian shamed for using disabled spot

<p><span>A double amputee Paralympian has shared the moment a stranger sneered in disgust when she parked in a disabled car space.</span></p> <p><span>Jessica Long, 28, revealed the incident in a TikTok video that has received over 4.2 million views.</span></p> <p><span>"I was never bullied as a kid and I didn't know that I was going to be bullied by adults because I park in handicap [spot]," the American athlete shared.</span></p> <p><span>Long said a woman had given her a disgusted look for parking in the disabled-only spot, before telling her she shouldn’t be allowed to use it.</span></p> <p><span>"So, it just happened again. I was parking my car — and I hope she sees this — this woman just has the nerve to look me up and down disgusted that I parked in the handicapped spot," the Maryland local explained.</span></p> <p><span>"She just kind of rolled down her window and proceeded to be like, 'You shouldn't park there.'"</span></p> <p><span>Long said she informed the woman she was an amputee, saying, "I don't have legs!"</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CJwBEq2JQYZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CJwBEq2JQYZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Jessica Long (@jessicatatianalong)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p> </p> <p><span>"That's why I'm parked in the handicapped [space]. That's why I have the handicapped pass. And she kind of just drove off."</span></p> <p><span>The athlete ended her video with a message for "all the handicap police out there".</span></p> <p><span>"Just be kind. You don't need to know why someone is parked in handicapped."</span></p> <p><span>Long was born missing bones in her lower legs as a result of a birth defect called fibular hemimelia.</span></p> <p><span>She told Buzzfeed her adoptive parents had her undergo an operation to amputate her legs when she was 18 months old so she "could be fitted with prosthetic legs and learn to walk."</span></p> <p><span>Long has endured more than 25 surgeries, but found a new redemption in swimming.</span></p> <p><span>Long has gone on to win 13 Paralympic gold medals for swimming and has competed in four Paralympic Games.</span></p> <p><span>Long said the incident with the woman was not an isolated situation, and says she gets "two to four comments" per week about her normal routine.</span></p> <p><span>"I've had people yell at me, leave notes on my windshield, knock on my car window, or wait for me to get out of my car just to tell me I can't park there," she said.</span></p> <p><span>Long told BuzzFeed people like to assume she doesn't "look handicapped."</span></p> <p><span>"I've been through more surgeries than I can count. My whole life I've had to adapt. I rely on my handicap pass," she said.</span></p> <p><span>"I'm open to explaining why I use my pass if someone asks, but I don't understand blatant rudeness, especially based on assumption.</span></p> <p><span>“I am always try to be kind and give people the benefit of the doubt first, and I hope more people will choose that as their first response."</span></p>

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60-year-old Paralympian dies during solo crossing of Pacific

<p><span>Angela Madsen, whose remarkable life took in a spell in the Marines, a string of gold medals and record setting rowing journeys, has passed away as she attempted a solo journey from California to Hawaii.</span></p> <p><span>The 60-year-old’s death was confirmed by her wife, Deb Madsen, in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “With extreme sadness,” she wrote, “I must announce that Angela Madsen will not complete her solo row to Hawaii.”</span></p> <p><span>Speaking to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Deb said the last she heard from her wife was when she was on route from Los Angeles to Honolulu in a 20-foot row boat, by text on Saturday. Angela had said she was going to enter the water to complete some maintenance. Deb had become concerned when she didn’t hear from Angela.</span></p> <p><span>Shortly after, the US Coast Guard located her body.</span></p> <p><span>“The [spotter] plane saw Angela in the water, apparently deceased, tethered to RowofLife, but was unable to relay that information due to poor satellite coverage,” Deb wrote on the Facebook page. The body has now been recovered.</span></p> <p><span>Soraya Simi, who was making a documentary about the crossing, said she was shocked by the news.</span><br /><span>“This is the single heaviest moment of my life,” Simi said in a statement to the Southern California News Group. “I am so sorry and so sad to write this. I know so many of you were cheering her on and wanted her to succeed.”</span></p> <p><span>Madsen led a life to remember. After her brother told her she wouldn’t make it in the military, she joined the Marines. But ended up in a wheelchair after injuring her back playing for the Marines basketball team.</span></p> <p><span>But despite the turn her life took, Madsen took up rowing and won several gold medals at the world rowing championships. She went on to row across the Indian and Atlantic Oceans and also circumnavigated Great Britain in her boat.</span></p> <p><span>Madsen’s athletics talents were not limited to rowing – she also won a bronze medal in shot put at the 2012 Paralympics in London.</span></p> <p><span>She also set up a program for disabled rowers in California. “I wanted to create an opportunity for people with disabilities to row,” she said. “It’s one of the most inclusive activities people can do. We row three days a week and do it year-round. It’s completely free for people with disabilities.”</span></p> <p><span>Simi said Madsen understood the danger involved in the 2,500 mile journey. “This was a clear risk going in since day one, and Angela was aware of that more than anyone else,” Simi said. “She was willing to die at sea doing the thing she loved most.”</span></p>

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Paralympic gold medallist dies by euthanasia at age 40

<p>Paralympian gold medallist Marieke Vervoort has passed away by euthanasia at the age of 40, 11 years after making a promise to herself.</p> <p>The Belgian Paralympian suffered from an incurable degenerative spinal condition which was diagnosed at the age of 21.</p> <p>The diagnosis followed years of pain, and Vervoort continued to suffer after receiving her diagnosis.</p> <p>"I know how I feel now, but I don't know how I'll feel after half an hour," she says. "It can be that I feel very, very bad, I get an epileptic attack, I cry, I scream because of pain. I need a lot of painkillers, valium, morphine,” she told<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/disability-sport/50150513" target="_blank">the BBC.</a></em></p> <p>"A lot of people ask me how is it possible that you can have such good results and still be smiling with all the pain and medication that eats your muscles. For me, sports, and racing with a wheelchair - it's a kind of medication."</p> <p>Vervoort was a strong advocate for euthanasia, as she first signed the documents necessary back in 2008, just six years after euthanasia was made legal in Belgium.</p> <p>"I was a very depressed person. I was thinking about how I was going to kill myself,” she said.</p> <p>"All those people who get those papers here in Belgium – they have a good feeling. They don't have to die in pain.</p> <p>"They can choose a moment, and be with the people they want to be with. With euthanasia you're sure that you will have a soft, beautiful death."</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B3x0kvcH4ud/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B3x0kvcH4ud/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Can’t forget the good memories!</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/wielemie.marieke.vervoort/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Marieke Vervoort</a> (@wielemie.marieke.vervoort) on Oct 18, 2019 at 4:45pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>A statement from the Belgian Paralympic Committee and IPC called her a “source of inspiration in our society”.</p> <p>"We will not forget Marieke Vervoort's great sporting achievements, as well as her courage in the face of illness," said President of the Belgian Paralympic Committee, Anne d'Ieteren.</p> <p>Marc Vergauwen, Secretary General of the Belgian Paralympic Committee, shared the same sentiment.</p> <p>“Marieke Vervoort brought the disabled into the light with her two medals at the London Paralympic Games.</p> <p>"Her performances as well as her spontaneous interviews after her races generated great media attention for Paralympic sport in Belgium and were a source of inspiration for our society."</p>

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