{"id":327869,"date":"2023-09-01T21:09:11","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T21:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=327869"},"modified":"2023-09-02T01:03:40","modified_gmt":"2023-09-02T01:03:40","slug":"aussie-champions-issue-with-unfair-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=327869","title":{"rendered":"Aussie champion's 'issue' with unfair language"},"content":{"rendered":"

Madison de Rozario has heard people mistakenly call her an Olympian far too many times.<\/p>\n

The champion\ufeff Australian wheelchair racer has also grown tired of hearing remarks like, "It's one year until the Paralympic Games<\/a>!", when there are 365 days until the Olympic Games but close to 400 days until the showpiece event of para-sport.<\/p>\n

De Rozario, who won 800-metre and marathon gold at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, began the 365-day countdown to the Paris Paralympics this week.<\/p>\n

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Incorrect language grates away at the 29-year-old\ufeff from Perth.<\/p>\n

"I think a lot of the importance isn't around hosting big events; it's more around the language that's used around the Paralympics and Olympics and getting that right," de Rozario told Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n

"There is so much power in language\ufeff and I think if we can get that right in Paris it changes culture … If we can nail that \u2014 and that's something that requires huge systemic changes \u2014 the impact that has on the Paralympics and athletes, but the Paralympic movement moreso, is actually enormous.<\/p>\n

\"Madison<\/p>\n

"Often we'll refer to Paralympians as Olympians, but it doesn't go the other way around. So my issue is not with people thinking I'm an Olympian; it's that no Olympian is confused for a Paralympian ever. If it went both ways, if there was parity between the two, it's 100 per cent fine, but it does always go the other way around.<\/p>\n

"That's because of the history the Olympics have. It's been such a staple in our sporting world for so long. But the Paralympics are at that point now, as well.<\/p>\n

"I think language is incredibly important."<\/p>\n

Despite being irked by incorrect language, de Rozario has huge gratitude for the efforts of athletes who came before her.<\/p>\n

One of those athletes was legendary wheelchair racer Louise Savage, a nine-time Paralympic gold medallist and de Rozario's coach.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffI am so proud (to be a Paralympian) and I know what this sport has given me and I know the history of it and the impact that these individuals throughout the history of the Paralympics have had," de Rozario said.<\/p>\n

"I love how much progress has been made and the individuals that fought so hard for us so I have to fight less, and I'll fight less and future generations will fight even less.<\/p>\n

"I saw little Hudson (Australian para-swimmer Hudson Wan) around today and I know the world for him is going to look so different than it has for me and I love that for him."<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The world won't only look incredibly different for Wan, but the dozens of athletes set to be unearthed by the Australian Sports Commission's $450,000 injection into Paralympic Australia's talent identification and pathway program.<\/p>\n

Of the 179 athletes selected for the Tokyo Paralympics, 63 were discovered through the same scheme.<\/p>\n

The program was bolstered by a crucial investment last month\ufeff with an eye on the 2032 Brisbane Paralympic Games.<\/p>\n

"I'm so proud, not only of what we've done as athletes, but how we've shifted the idea of what sport can be in Australia and the identities of what people with disabilities can be in Australia, as well," de Rozario added.<\/p>\n

"Because of the powerhouse that Australia is on the Paralympic landscape the impact that has globally, as well, is impressive.<\/p>\n

"To get to be able to play a small part in that \u2014 I'm incredibly proud of that."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Madison de Rozario has heard people mistakenly call her an Olympian far too many times. The champion\ufeff Australian wheelchair racer has also grown tired of […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":327871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327869"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=327869"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":327874,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327869\/revisions\/327874"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/327871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=327869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=327869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=327869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}