CHICAGO (July 8, 2009) A Chicago 2016 delegation will travel to Berlin, Germany, this week to celebrate International Paralympic Day on Saturday, July 11. Members of the delegation include Linda Mastandrea, Director of Paralympic Sport and Accessibility for Chicago 2016; Mike Roberts, Vice Chairman for Chicago 2016; and Paralympian Karin Korb.
The International Paralympic Committee holds International Paralympic Day as a biennial event to promote all aspects of Paralympic sport. Demonstrations of a number of sports will be held in Berlin, including football 5-a-side, long jump, table tennis, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair dance, as well as winter sports biathlon and ice sledge hockey. Chicago 2016 will host a booth at the event to share details of Chicagos Paralympic Games plan.
Paralympic Sport has had a strong positive impact on my life, and I enjoy having the opportunity to celebrate the tremendous power of the Paralympic movement to transform the lives of people with disabilities, said Mastandrea. Chicago 2016s Paralympic Games plan is designed with the athlete in mind, and the City of Chicagos commitment to accessibility is front and center in that plan. We look forward to sharing the details of our plan with everyone in Berlin.
Chicago 2016 will also celebrate International Paralympic Day in Chicago by bringing a number of Paralympic ahletes to a Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) youth camp. Athletes, including Edwin Cockrell, Kenny Johnson, Paul Moran, Greta Neimanas and Sam Williams, will take part in sport activities with the RIC youth, including wheelchair basketball and boccia.
Cockrell, an Illinois native, has been involved in Paralympic Sport for over a decade and earned a silver medal in the shot put in the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games. Johnson has traveled the world playing boccia for the United States World Cup team and was named Sports Channels Inspirational Athlete of the Year in 1995. Moran is a five-time Paralympian in sit volleyball and is ranked 25 in the world in wheelchair tennis. Neimanas competed in cycling in her first Paralympic Games last year in Beijing. Williams, a six-time national boccia champion in the United States, also competed in the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games.
In 2007, Chicago was named one of Americas most disability-friendly cities by the National Organization on Disability. According to the Mayors Office for People with Disabilities, more than 600,000 people with disabilities live and work in the city.
About Chicago 2016
Chicago 2016 is a 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is to seek the privilege of hosting the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Chicago. The committees board consists of business, civic, athletic, cultural and academic leaders representing Chicago and the surrounding Midwest region. Patrick Ryan serves as the organizations chairman and CEO.
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