Good morning. At a spectacular Paralympic Games opening ceremony last night, the head of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons, said that “disability is not a flaw in the person: it is the architecture, practices, attitudes, lifestyles and models of society that create the ‘situation’”. But for a lot of television viewers tuning in to the Games, a single word will summarise what they expect to see: “superhuman”.
That word was central to the breakthrough success of Channel 4’s branding at London 2012, when the Games saw record viewing figures and a new focus on funding for disabled sport. In this telling, the Games are a feelgood success story about athletes overcoming their disability – and if athletes like Hannah Cockroft, Sarah Storey and Dave Ellis can bring home medals for Team GB, they may well be viewed in the same way this year.
