The London Games came to their conclusion earlier this month and subsequently the likes of Mariana Pajon, Erick Barrondo and the Mexican men’s soccer team returned to their respective countries amidst pomp and circumstance.
Meanwhile several hundred athletes from Latin America and the Caribbean are in London for the Paralympics that will be inaugurated later today. Thus, over the next several days we’ll look at some competitors from the region that will be participating in the London Paralympics.
Peruvian Paralympic athletes have won eight medals, which are twice as many medals obtained as the country’s Olympic squads. This year the South American country will be represented by a single athlete: fifty-five-year-old Pompilio Falconi.
The military veteran has won 135 medals in competitions throughout his athletic career including a bronze in last year’s Parapan American Games. Falconi’s main discipline has been the javelin throw yet organizers reclassified him due to the nature of his disability (a progressive form of multiple sclerosis). Nevertheless, he qualified for the Paralympics in the discus event that will be held on September 3rd.
In the video below via Peruvian TV, Falconi admitted that even though he will have to forego taking painkillers to treat his disability while in London his body has “adapted” to the rigors of top-level athletic competition:
The London Paralympics will be held over twelve days and is expected to include the participation of 4280 athletes representing 166 nations.
Video Source– YouTube via user americatvnoticias
Online Sources – BBC News, Libero, RPP, ESPN, Fox News Latino
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