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buad hai

The Fourth ASEAN Para Games are being held in Korat this week.

The venue for the Athletics (Track and Field) is the same as for the SEA Games held in Korat last December.

I went to the first day of competition yesterday and grabbed a few snaps:


The blind runners have a partner to keep them in the correct lane.


The blind runners wear a mask so that partially sighted athletes don't have an advantage.


Finish of the 100 meter men's wheel chair event.


Isaan style entertainment for the awards ceremonies.


Always something nice to look at.


High tech sprint chair.


If the award presenter is in a chair, the winning athletes stand behind a board indicating their place rather than on a raised platform.

buad hai

I guess this is of interest to no one but myself, but here I go anyway.

Today is the last day of competition at the Fourth ASEAN Para Games. I went mainly to see some of the distance events and took a few more snaps while there:


This is the southern end of the stadium with the flame and what looks like a Naga which was added over night, I think.


The stadium scoreboard. I attended every day of the SEA Games and the first day of the Para Games, but this is the first time I've seen the scoreboard display graphic images like this.


The start of the 10,000 meter wheel chair race. It had just started to rain a few minutes before. The guy in the light blue shirt had to quit the race as the dampness prevented his gloves from getting traction with the wheel. (I'm sure I was the only spectator in the stadium for this event. The rest were all officials and athletes.


Hi tech chair used for distance events. The steering is set so that one tap changes it from straight to the correct angle for the curves and back again. Brilliant.


Yep, lots of doping control people even at the Para Games.


Long Jump for the blind. The guy in the orange shirt is using claps and his voice to guide the jumper down the runway. Unlike the standard broad jump, the blind jumper's distance is measure from his actual take-off point, as spotted in the white rectangle.


The blind jumper lands with a so-so jump. The blind athletes are all blindfolded so that the partially sighted do not have an unfair advantage.


The gold medal winner in one of the 1500 meter events. This athlete from East Timor has some slight deformities and coordination problems. Because he was the only entrant in his division, he had to run with athletes in a different division. As a result he was lapped almost twice by the leader in this 3 3/4 lap race. But, he persevered and finished to great applause. I found it quite touching that this individual managed to overcome great personal challenges in a country that has seen nothing but trouble and pain over the last several decades and made his way to the Games.


Competitors in one of the 1500 meter races.


Gold and Silver Medalists in the 10,000 meter event. These men are both fine athletes.


Isaan entertainment for the awards ceremonies.

klongmaster

Good report BH: you obviously didn't have any problem finding a seat...

good to see these games held here where the disabled are normally hidden away...