“USA! USA! USA!” was a household chant this past summer as we cheered our athletes to 104 medals at the London Olympics. The Paralympic Games, which took place August 29 to September 9 and showcased athletes with physical disabilities, didn’t command the same TV coverage, however.
Edina native Stuart Lieberman, who manages the website paralympic.org, laments that difference in our country. “For the 2008 Beijing Olympics, more than 3.8 billion viewed the Paralympic Games on their TV sets; however, none of those were Americans, as the United States does not broadcast the Paralympic games,” he explains.
Lieberman, who has been stationed in Germany since last July, has met and interviewed exceptional Paralympic athletes, including Jared Wallace, a Georgia native who made the U.S. relay team this year; this despite being told he would have trouble walking after his leg was amputated earlier in his life.
Lieberman’s favorite part of his job? “Seeing what the athletes can do with their ability, not their disability.”
