Sierra Leone flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro Brazil George Wyndham said he was very excited to carry the country’s flag.
Wyndham was among the 160 flag bearers that carried their country flags at the Maracana Stadium on Wednesday night.
“I am very pleased to lead my country in the opening ceremony. It’s a big boost to me because I realized the fact that I am the only athlete representing Sierra Leone so I need to up my game”.
Sierra Leone was represented by three persons George Wyndham, Coach Emmanuel Lebbie and Alhassan Kamara in the March pass at the Maracana Stadium, while the other members of the delegation including the Deputy Minister of Sports Ishmael Al Sankoh Conteh, Director of Sports Ibrahim Bangura and the Executive Secretary of the NPC-SL Alexander Thullah were in the pavilion.
The opening ceremony was spectacular even though after the Olympic Games there were serious concerns about the Paralympics games if it would go ahead at all because of the challenges the organizers were facing.
Whether it was a lack of ticket sales, the closing of venues or several teams lacking the funding to send athletes to Rio, it seemed there were no end of obstacles standing in the way of organizers.
According to the International Paralympics Committee President Philip Craven said “Never before in the 56-year history of the Paralympic Games have we faced circumstances like this.”
However, as the first fireworks exploded and then disappeared into the sky above Brazil’s iconic Maracana stadium, those worries became a distant memory.
The extreme wheelchair athlete got the opening ceremony under way against a backdrop of fireworks exploding out of the Maracana’s circular roof.
What followed was four hours of colour, samba and 4,300 Paralympic athletes partying their way into the night – those that didn’t have to be up early to compete that is.
Winter Paralympic medalist Amy Purdy put her dancing skills, which she honed during “Dancing with the Stars,” on display as she performed with a robot.
The ceremony ended with an emotional passing of the Paralympic torch, during which 1984 Paralympian Marcia Malsar fell on the floor, but was met by a deafening roar from the crowd as she stood up and completed her leg.
Clodoaldo Silva, a national hero and six-time Paralympic champion, was given the honour of finishing the relay and was poignantly faced by a flight of stairs, which turned into a ramp to allow him to ignite the cauldron.
By Bernard Turay
Friday September 09, 2016