The 2016 Sultan Mehmed Games: Opening Ceremony Pt.6

This should be read as a direct continuation of Part 5; http://watchitdie.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/the-2016-sultan-mehmed-games-opening_19.html

Torch Relay & Cauldron Lighting: The highlight of any Opening Ceremony is of course the end of the torch relay and the lighting of the Para-Olympic cauldron.

This sequence began with a video montage showing the "Heritage Flame" as it is now known making its way from the September 2nd (2/9/16) lighting ceremony in Stoke Mandeville hospital, UK to Rio. Due to the constraints of time and budget this did not begin as a physical torch relay but a virtual one. From the lighting ceremony it was passed via social media across the globe to Brazil where it became a physical relay.

I did notice that this video montage showed the closing song from the lighting ceremony. This is the bit that Channel 4 News didn't bother cover because they thought it was more important to cut to a panel discussion and a weather report. They were though the only broadcaster to cover any of the ceremony live.

The flame was brought into the arena by Brazilian sprinter Antonio Souza.

As a single below the elbow amputee Souza competed in the T46 class indicating that he is a Track athlete who an impairment to his upper limbs (4) and that impairment is moderate-to-light (6). Being rather good in this discipline Souza won silver in the men's 400m in the 2000 Sydney games and gold in the 2004 Athens games in both the 400m & 200m.

Souza then handed the torch to Marcia Malsar. She is the one that you've all heard of because she fell over.

Despite falling over in an Opening Ceremony Marcia Malsar is also reasonably famous as a Brazilian sprinter who has won four Para-Olympic medals. Most notably Sliver in the women's 1000m and Gold in the women's 200m in the 1984 games. Although  the 1984 Olympics were held in Los Angeles that year's Para-Olympics were held all the way across the US in Long Island, New York.

Malsar used to compete in the C6 class. This indicates that she has an impairment of the Cerebellum and that impairment is moderate-to-light (6) in severity. But closer to the moderate (5).

Traditionally the C class only applied to people with Cerebral Palsy. This is a congenital condition (birth defect) in which the brain does not properly communicate with the nervous system as it connects to the Spinal Column via the Cerebellum and Brain Stem. With these areas of the brain being particularly responsible for automatic processes such as balance and movement this can cause those with the condition or twitch or fall over as their muscles experience what are know as; "Spastic contractions."

More recently though the C class has grow to include competitors with neurological symptoms causing impairment similar to Cerebral Palsy. This definition can include any one or a combination of literally thousands of medical conditions including being punched in the head really hard (Concussion). Apparently it takes at least 7 years to qualify as an actual, proper doctor.

However as the developed world in particular has become increasingly interested in the type of disability associated with ageing bodies the oft talked about type of neurological impairment are those associated with Stroke.

The not strictly speaking medical term "Stroke" refers to any failure of blood flow to the brain resulting brain cell death. The two main types are "Ischemic" when blood vessels get blocked or "Hemorrhagic" when the blood vessels burst and all the blood leaks out into places it shouldn't be rather than the places it should be.

What neurological damage is done by a stroke really depends on two things. How long it lasts for and what area of the brain it effects.

Hemorrhagic strokes tend to be catastrophic. They can last for as long as it takes for someone to cut into the brain and surgically patch up the burst blood vessel. Untreated Hemorrhagic strokes are often fatal.

Ischemic strokes can be every bit as catastrophic as Hemorrhagic strokes. However they tend to effect smaller blood vessels such as capillaries rather than arteries and can often clear themselves. This is known as a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) or mini-stroke. These often pass after a couple of hours without the need for medical intervention.

Whatever the type of stroke cutting off the supply of blood and therefore oxygen to any brain cells causes them to die. What level of neurological impairment this causes depends on where in the brain those cells are located. Despite all the advances of science we're still not exactly sure what each brain cell does. Not least because brain cells not only seem able to do more than one job they also seem able to change their purpose to compensate for any cells that have been lost.

Apart from death a common consequence of catastrophic strokes is paralysis of part or all of the body. Curiously the side of the body affected is opposite to the hemisphere of the brain affected. So if someone has a stroke in the left side of their brain it will be the right side of their body affected. The paralysis of the facial muscles - particularly around the mouth - are a big clue that someone has suffered a stroke.

More minor consequences - particularly of TIA's - can include minor loss of co-ordination, memory loss and loss of cognitive function and reasoning skills. On a day-to-day basis the progression of this impairment may be imperceptible to the naked eye in much the same way you can't really notice someones hair growing millimetre by millimetre.

The exact nature of Marcia Malsar's medical condition would be extremely helpful in determining why she fell. After all the important thing to remember about people with Cerebral Palsy is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with their brains.

For example in 2012 Britain was represented in the Equestrian events by Sophie Christiansen who has Cerebral Palsy. She is not competing in Rio because she felt it was more important to put her Masters degree in Mathematics to work as a statistical analyst for Goldman Sachs.

Therefore it is entirely possible that Marcia Malsar fell over on purpose to provide us with a talking point.

However that is not to say that she faked her fall. Merely that she agreed to participate in the relay knowing that her impairment meant that it was more likely than not that she would fall over.

At around 21:40 on 13/9/16 (UK date) the exact nature of that talking point will have to wait until tomorrow. Because as the second glass of wine goes down I've got a feeling this isn't going to get more coherent.

Edited at around 14:25 on 14/9/16 (UK date) to add;

The talking point Marcia Malsar's fall provided us with is how do you react when a disabled person does something embarrassing like falling over?

Answering this is quite difficult because asking what the disabled think is about as much use as asking what the Muslims think or what the Blacks think. It turns out that they're all individuals each with their own opinion.

Generally what a lot of disabled people complain about though is people fussing over them. That is to say when they fall over everyone rushes towards them with tears in their eyes and tries wrapping them in a cotton wool blanket before urgently calling an ambulance to take them to hospital.

After all if you've got an impairment that causes balance problems you may well fall over a couple of times a day. Therefore you get very good at landing without injuring yourself and getting yourself back up again.

A somewhat interesting example is UK powerlifter Ali Jawad. Apart from having a big Persian nose and big, pointy Persian ears he is also a double above the knee amputee. However rather than using prosthetics or a wheelchair he just charges about on his stumps. If he wants to get on or off a chair he'll simply swing on his arms like some sort of angry monkey. As a powerlifter he clearly doesn't need you to pick him up. Plus you probably couldn't even if you tried.

Of course the fact that Ali Jawad has also grown a beard like the Genie from Disney's "Aladdin" suggests we're dealing with a bit of a character.

However if someone - disabled or not - does fall over right next to you it is only polite to ask if they would like your help getting back up.

So when Marcia Malsar fell no-one came rushing over to help her. Two people did rush over but that was only to pick up the torch to stop the flame going out. Nor did the next person in the relay rush on to pick up the torch and cut short Malsar's section of the relay.

Instead everyone just waited until she'd picked herself up, dusted herself down and carried on with her section of the relay as normal.

During this time the crowd in the arena all rose to their feet to cheer and applaud. I personally found that a little condescending as if Malsar as an accomplished runner deserved applause simply for standing up. However it was certainly better than standing there in shocked silence or letting out a horrified gasp.

What I personally tend to do in this type of situation - particularly if I'm around friends rather than say work colleagues - is crack a little joke to break the tension and then just carry on. It was German philosopher Frederich Nietzsche who said that; "A joke is an epigram (epitaph) on the death of an emotion." That reflects the way that a joke can been used as a way to process and reject all those feelings of hurt or embarrassment.

I suspect the Brazilian hosts understood that the joke often made when someone falls over is that lumberjack's cry of; "TIMBER!!!!" That of course touches on that Climate Change issue of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+).

Malsar than passed the torch to Brazilian runner Adria Santos.

Born blind Adria Santos has won 12 Para-Olympic medals in total starting with Silver in the 100m at the 1996 Atlanta games. Most notably though she won Gold in the 100m in the 1992 Barcelona games, Gold in both the 100m and 200m at the 2000 Sydney games and Gold in the 100m at the 2004 Athens games.

In the 1996 Atlanta games up until the 2000 Sydney games Santos competed in the B2 class. This indicates that she is Blind and that impairment is medium to severe. However at the 2000 games the IPC changed the classification system and from then on Santos competed in either the T11 or T12 class.

This indicates that she is a Track athlete with an impairment affecting her vision (1) and that impairment is either severe (1) or medium to severe (2). However these days all visually impaired runners tend to wear blindfolds so they all compete in the T11 class regardless of whether they've got perfect eyesight.

Finally Santos passed the torch to Clodoaldo Silva.

Silva is something of a Brazilian swimming legend. At the time of the torch relay he had won 12 Para-Olympic medals beginning with three Silvers and a Bronze at the 2000 Sydney games in the 100m freestyle, 4x50m medley, 4x50m freestyle and 50m freestyle. He as also set five Para-Olympic and four World records.

So far in these games Silva has already won Silver in the mixed 4x50m freestyle. I'm a bit worried he might win more medals while I'm writing this.

Silva competes in the S5 class. This indicates that he is Swimmer and that he suffers from a moderate impairment of his mobility. Silva's specific impairment comes from Cerebral Palsy and primarily affects his lower body. As a result when Silva is not in the pool he uses a wheelchair.

This presented a huge problem when he came to the base of the protocol island which had the cauldron at its summit.

The design of the protocol island seemed based on the Inca temples and it was a giant rectangular monolith with steps all the way down its front. Although technically the Inca are from Brazil's neighbour Peru this seemed to be a little nod to Brazil's indigenous tribes. If they'd used something specifically Brazilian it's unlikely people would have recognised it and all the other tribes would have been offended.

The geometrically perfect steps at the front of the island were very reminiscent of the Modernist school of architecture founded by famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. It is this Niemeyer influence you can see in the Brutalist City Hall in Boston, Massachusetts.

No matter how fascinating these steps were to students of architecture they were most certainly not wheelchair accessible so Clodoaldo Silva was left looking dejected, unable to reach the cauldron he needed to light.

Then suddenly and mechanically sections of the steps pushed outwards to form a wheelchair ramp.

This was intended to highlight the sort of problems that disabled people experience in everyday and how easy it is to solve them if only we were a little more thoughtful. Although this is a global issue it is one that is particularly relevant to Rio's favelas.

Built without planning on land no-one else wants favelas tend to be built on the side of hills meaning that they are essentially all stairs. Not only does this make them completely inaccessible to wheelchair users even fully able bodied people find living in favelas physically exhausting.

As part of the preparations for these games Rio built a Gondola or cable-car system linking the Alemao favela with the city centre to save people the effort of walking up and down all those stairs.

Having reached the summit of the protocol island Silva lit the cauldron. This was the same cauldron used in the previous games. However due to budgetary constraints the stadium where that cauldron is located is closed during the games. So we have to make do with a smaller copy placed outside the Candelaria Church in Rio itself.

The ceremony ended with a performance by Brazilian pop Samba singer Seu Jorge. During this song all the performers returned to the arena floor to dance and enjoy a party atmosphere.

There was then the traditional firework display.

16:15 on 14/9/16 (UK date).