The Olympic Movement fits cosily into a box.

Stick with me here, I'll get to the Paralympics in a minute.

Back to the box now, to where the Olympic Movement has defined boundaries and is fully geared towards the elite-level competition every two years.

With last week marking 100 days until the "largest Paralympic test event", as many have ironically coined it, I've thought a lot about what makes the Paralympics different from the Olympics.

I'm not so certain the two are exactly parallel, as the connotation infers.

To me, the word Olympic definitely carries the most weight in the term "Olympic Movement".

But when it comes to the term "Paralympic Movement", it's definitely the latter word that is the driving force.

In the Olympic Movement, the most exhilarating moments usually come when an athlete wins gold.

In the Paralympic Movement, those moments can come on any typical day.

The Paralympic Movement is about so much more than just the Paralympic Games.

It's about changing perceptions, breaking down barriers and doing what you were once told you would never be able to do.

It's literally about people on the move; people who reshape our world in the everyday aspects of life.

Yes, the Paralympic Games showcases athletes competing at the highest level in their respective sports, but I think what the public does not see enough of are the little moments in athletes' lives when they inspire those at the grassroots level or open the eyes of someone who has never seen a Para-athlete before.


Take 21-year-old Scott Reardon (pictured).

While Scott recently won the 200 metres sprint at the Australian Athletics Championships last weekend, what amazes me most is what he has achieved behind a boat over the last few years.

In 2002, a tractor severed Scott's right leg through the knee when his shoelace got caught. But that didn't end his love for waterskiing, as he went on to win the sport's world title in 2007 and 2009 on just one leg.

And, believe me, that's no easy feat. The two times I tried waterskiing – albeit on two legs – I fell face first into the water!

Then there's Canadian Michelle Stilwell (pictured below), a two-times Paralympic gold medallist in wheelchair racing.


Yet again it's the little things she does that help to propel the Movement forward.

Last month, 37-year-old Michelle took part in the Malabar Beach 1-kilometre open-water swim in Australia. The race helped raise money for Rainbow Club Australia, a non-profit charity that provides funds towards swimming and recreational activities for young people with disabilities.

What brought the ethos of the Movement closest to home for me was when I had the chance to climb a mountain with American swimmer 23-year-old Rudy Garcia-Tolson (pictured bottom) in Colorado a few summers ago. I sweated it out like none other trying to keep up with the double-leg amputee en route to the peak.

And to think there are 4,197 other people like Scott, Michelle and Rudy who have the chance to compete in London this summer. Well, that's just mind-blowing.

Furthermore, according to the United Nations, around 10 per cent of the world's population – some 650 million people – live with a disability, making it the world's largest minority.


This Paralympic Movement has the potential to make the largest minority part of the majority, and there are so many other summer and winter athletes out there providing their own daily contributions to help push it forward.

Esther Vergeer (wheelchair tennis), Thomas Jacobsen (ice sledge hockey), Anjali Forber-Pratt (wheelchair racing), Andre Brasil (swimming), Dror Cohen (sailing) and Patrick Anderson (wheelchair basketball) to name but a few.

So act now to educate yourself and find out how they're impacting the world on a day-to-day basis. Because by the time they reach the international podium you may have missed out on some of the best stories.

So go ahead, Google them. You won't regret it.

They're the ones keeping the Paralympics on the move.

Stuart Lieberman is the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) editorial and social media co-ordinator. Read his blog here.