EPISODE · Aug 27, 2016 · 35 MIN
Paralympic Problems
from Not by the Playbook · host BBC World Service
Poor ticket sales, finance issues, Russian athletes banned. The Paralympic movement is facing a testing time ahead of the Rio Games. We hear from Tatanya McFadden, the American parathlete who has reportedly pledged $1000 out of her own pocket to buy tickets for Brazilian children. And, we hear from disappointed Russian Paralympian Irina Vertinskaya, and Lord Holmes who was the director of Paralympic Integration at the London Games in 2012.Struggling to Cope: Life After Football Regi Blinker, the former Dutch international who played in the English Premier League for Sheffield Wednesday and in Scotland for Celtic, retired 13 years ago. Since then he founded and continues to run the successful Life After Football magazine. The publication is dedicated to the professional game in which the worlds of fashion, art and football collide. The Problematic State of Aussie Sport: A record rugby union defeat to the All Blacks, swept by Sri Lanka in the cricket and an Olympic medal haul lower than London 2012, an Olympiad recognised as a low point for Australian sport. So what is wrong with Australian sport (Golf and Jason Day, you are excused from this debate). There was a time that Australian tennis ruled the world. Take the US Open which starts this week. Australia have provided more winners than any other country bar America, but now Aussie tennis talent is thin on the ground. Former AFL player and coach of the last successful Australian Davis Cup team Roger Rasheed joins us.Sporting Witness It is 25 years since Willy T Ribbs became the first African-American racing driver to take part in the prestigious Indianapolis 500. Sometimes compared to Muhammad Ali because of his cocky character, Ribbs had talent but struggled for years to get sponsorship and a decent car to drive.(Photo: The gold, silver and bronze medals for the 2016 Paralympics. Credit: Jogos Rio 2016/Getty Images)
What this episode covers
Poor ticket sales, finance issues, Russian athletes banned. The Paralympic movement is facing a testing time ahead of the Rio Games. We hear from Tatanya McFadden, the American parathlete who has reportedly pledged $1000 out of her own pocket to buy tickets for Brazilian children. And, we hear from disappointed Russian Paralympian Irina Vertinskaya, and Lord Holmes who was the director of Paralympic Integration at the London Games in 2012.Struggling to Cope: Life After Football Regi Blinker, the former Dutch international who played in the English Premier League for Sheffield Wednesday and in Scotland for Celtic, retired 13 years ago. Since then he founded and continues to run the successful Life After Football magazine. The publication is dedicated to the professional game in which the worlds of fashion, art and football collide. The Problematic State of Aussie Sport: A record rugby union defeat to the All Blacks, swept by Sri Lanka in the cricket and an Olympic medal haul lower than London 2012, an Olympiad recognised as a low point for Australian sport. So what is wrong with Australian sport (Golf and Jason Day, you are excused from this debate). There was a time that Australian tennis ruled the world. Take the US Open which starts this week. Australia have provided more winners than any other country bar America, but now Aussie tennis talent is thin on the ground. Former AFL player and coach of the last successful Australian Davis Cup team Roger Rasheed joins us.Sporting Witness It is 25 years since Willy T Ribbs became the first African-American racing driver to take part in the prestigious Indianapolis 500. Sometimes compared to Muhammad Ali because of his cocky character, Ribbs had talent but struggled for years to get sponsorship and a decent car to drive.(Photo: The gold, silver and bronze medals for the 2016 Paralympics. Credit: Jogos Rio 2016/Getty Images)
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Paralympic Problems
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