Estevan’s Sheila Guenther couldn’t cheer for any athletes during her time as an assistant technical delegate at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, but she did feel admiration for the performances they put forward and the reception they were showed.
“I’ve seen some of these athletes, not (just) Canadian athletes but all of them, perform in different competitions over the last number of years and you get to know some of them,” said Guenther. “So, regardless of where they’re from, it’s still emotional seeing the effort that they put forward and the results that they’re achieving. It was very emotional to see a lot of the swimmers achieve their goals.”
Guenther was appointed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to act as an assistant technical delegate at the Games’ swimming competition that ran Sept. 8 to 17 at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The longtime local swimming official arrived in Rio on Sept. 3 and began her pre-competition duties by helping meet with the different teams to make sure they were all familiar with where everything was located, when the training pools were available and how the competition would be operated among other matters.
During the 10-day swimming event, Guenther focused on ensuring the competition was run fairly and as close to the time-line as possible to adhere to its broadcast schedule. However, since the swimming event ran through morning and evening sessions, she said there was time in-between to take in the experience of being at the Games.
“What I found very interesting was going to some of the other sports and getting more familiar with them,” she said. “I got to see goalball, which is for visually impaired athletes, and I went to wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball and fencing.”
Guenther said the experience of being a part of Rio 2016 extended from the sporting events to her stay in the Athletes Village where she was able to witness the competitors train, head off to their events and just participate in village life. She said taking in the “spectacular” opening and closing ceremonies were also a highlight of the trip as was the chance to see the Brazilian people open up their hearts to the Paralympic Games.
“The spectators that they had for the Paralympic Games were amazing,” said Guenther. “There were so many of them. Our venue was filled almost every evening and they were very passionate about their support. The Brazilians themselves were very passionate about their own swimmers, but they were also very good at cheering on the other swimmers too. So, it was really electrifying to be in that atmosphere.”
