Book touts handicapped athletes

In the walkup to the 10^th Paralympics in Vancouver the organizers of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi have unveiled a book which is all about the lives of handicapped athletes.

The book, written by the prominent sports commentator Konstantin Osipov, consists of two parts: one about the history of Paralympic movement in Russia and second looks at the people who determine the lineup of this country's Paralympic team.  Including those who will represent Russia in Vancouver.

"When I realized that handicapped athletes are still athletes, like anyone else, I found it much easier to write this book, Osipov says.  I traveled to Finland where our Paralympic skiers and biathletes were training for the Games, and there the coach was yelling at them and prodding them on just like they usually do with healthy sportsmen... The athletes appreciated this very much telling me it was a major psychological boost for them to push themselves to the limit, as if nothing had happened".

That's why you will not find any trace of pity in this book, the author says. This is a book about regular athletes who win medals for Russia. Well, some of them have a leg of arm missing, some are blind... Can you imagine a biathlete who can't see? They fire by ear, but they still go for a win.

"Mark my words - our Paralympians are gonna do better in Vancouver than our national team recently did", Osipov adds.