Jezebel: paralympics

Audrina Patridge Gets A New Home (& Baby) • Tina Wears Sunglasses In Flight

Maria — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:10:00 EDT

Welcome back to the Monday morning edition of Snap Judgment, in which we publish the celebrity snaps that came in over the earlier part of the weekend. Inside: Audrina Patridge, Tina Fey, Kate Winslet, Ne-Yo, Queen Beatrix, Josh Hartnett, and The Jonas Brothers filming in Los Angeles. All those — and others — in a gallery beginning below. (Click on the post headline, then a picture to begin the gallery view.)

(All images via Bauer-Griffin.)

In 1982, at the age of 25, Barbara Buchan...

Margaret — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:15:00 EDT

In 1982, at the age of 25, Barbara Buchan was competing for a spot on the U.S. cycling team when a horrific accident shattered her skull and left her in a coma for two months. Doctors didn't think she would survive, and even when she woke up they said she may never speak or walk again. But Buchan struggled through six years of painful rehabilitation determined not just to walk, but to compete in cycling again. Yesterday, at 52, Buchan finally fulfilled her dream of winning a gold medal, breaking a world record in the individual 3,000 meter cycling pursuit at the Paralympics in Beijing. Though she still has trouble reading and speaking and coordination problems in her arms and hands that make shifting gears difficult, she has built up her leg strength and endurance to compensate, and relies on her team mates to help tighten bolts and tweak her bike before races. It's an incredible comeback and she's still not done — Buchan will race again in Beijing on Friday in the 25-kilometer road time trial. [NY Times]

Swimmer Loses Her Leg, Goes On To Compete in the Olympics

Margaret — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:30:00 EDT

South African swimmer Natalie du Toit didn't win a medal in Beijing, but she is still one of the most inspiring Olympians of this year's Games. Du Toit, 24, lost her left leg in a motorcycle accident in 2001, a year after she failed to qualify for the Sydney Games. Three months after her leg was amputated at the knee she was back in the water, and went on to win five gold medals in the 2004 Paralympic Games. After narrowly failing to qualify for the 2004 games, this year Natalie became the first female amputee to compete in the Olympics. She swam in the 10km race yesterday, finishing 16th out of 25, as seen in the clip above from The Today Show.