Suni Lee and 16 other Team USA members with Minnesota ties inspired at the recently completed Tokyo Olympics.
Well, get ready for two new names (and perhaps more) to emerge as elite athletes with state ties taking the world stage. Melissa Stockwell and Chuck Aoki will be flagbearers at the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games, which start on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Stockwell, a paratriathlete and bronze medalist from the first Paralympic triathlon event in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, was the first female soldier in U.S. history to lose a limb in active combat, after her vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2004. Awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, the Eden Prairie High School graduate will be joined by Minneapolis' Chuck Aoki, a two-time medal winner (silver in Rio, bronze in London in 2012) in wheelchair rugby.
"I think what makes the flag designation so meaningful is that they're voted on by their peers," Kate Hartman, chief of communications for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, told an editorial writer. "They were nominated for what they've done for the sport, what they've done for the movement, and for who they are as athletes and leaders. That speaks volumes to their character, and we're thrilled they'll be holding the flag representing the United States at the Opening Ceremony."
Stockwell and Aoki will be representing 242 Team USA athletes in a competition that will include about 4,400 athletes from 162 delegations.
Just as during the Olympics, geopolitics and global health concerns shadow the Paralympics. There will be a Paralympic Refugee Team, just as there was weeks prior in the Summer Games. And Afghanistan's two Paralympians will not be able to compete because of the Taliban takeover. One, Zakia Khudadadi, a taekwondo athlete, released a heartbreaking video appealing for help. "I am currently imprisoned inside the house. I cannot even go outside around this house with confidence," Khudadadi says, concluding with: "My intention is to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Please hold my hand and help me."
And just as with the Olympics, there will be strict COVID protocols, including no fans in the stands. But that doesn't mean Minnesotans can't cheer on the Paralympians: NBC, through its broadcast and cable networks as well as online platforms, will provide a record amount of Paralympic coverage up until the Closing Ceremonies on Sept. 5. "It just shows there is a real interest and dedication to this movement and to make sure that the athletes are getting the time and recognition they deserve," Hartman said.
The recognition is meaningful to people with disabilities, Rob Wudlick, a clinical research project manager in rehabilitation medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School, told an editorial writer. This includes Wudlick, who is a quadriplegic due to a diving accident. "An opportunity for people with disabilities to compete on the global stage, just like anybody else, is inspiring," said Wudlick. "You might have had something tragic happen, and this is the best, that we're part of this greater conversation, with the ability to compete and have a structure for that. That's very motivating to a lot of people."
