As the Paralympics Begin...

(12 Mar 06 -RV) The nine-day winter Paralympic Games is in its second competitive day after a spectacular opening ceremony in the Italian city of Turin with a crowd of 30,000.
The games will feature 486 diabled athletes from 39 countries.
Head of the Office of Sport at the Pontifical Council for Laity, Fr Kevin Lixey, says that these Olympics can often present greater examples of sportsmanship and heroism than other the other games…
Fifty-eight medals will be contested in five disciplines — ‘alpine skiing,’ ‘ice sledge hockey,’ ‘nordic skiing,’ ‘biathlon’ and, for the first time, ‘wheelchair curling’ — over the nine days.
Organizers expect 200,000 fans at the Paralympics venues in Turin.