Running around the Guadalajara roads

Kevin and Bob. Gold and Silver

It may appear that I went to many events yesterday. After an hour or so in the clinic, I took off to see the Gold medal event putting 2 Canadians, Kevin Evans and Robert Hudson, face to face in archery. Bob is in a wheelchair and Kevin has only one arm. They are still considered in the same classification.

Kevin has interesting equipment allowing
him to release with his left cheek/chin

At the end, Kevin came up a winner and, being great friends, it was hugs all around for the celebration. Both of them get qualified for the Paralympic Games in London in August 2012.

I was stunned and impressed to see an American compete: with no arms. He held the bow with his right foot after loading the arrow with his toes. Then has a hook system on his right shoulder where he is able to get the string and then, leg straight ahead and very steady, aims and shoots. Amazing.

Load....

Aim and shoot. 

Then I  got in a car and the driver took me to goalball where I saw the men take on a solidly dominate Mexico. I could only stay for about 15 minutes, checked to make sure all the Canadian athletes were OK by chatting with Isabelle their therapist and then rushed over to the Stadium to get to track and field where I wanted to be by 2:15. Guadalajara has over 6 million people and I think they all decided to be on the road yesterday….or everyday. I arrived past 2:45.  Stayed for 2 of our Canadian races, then had to take off again jumping in a venue shuttle back to the Village, a quick bite for dinner then jumped on the team bus with the women basketball team for their semi final game against Mexico.

Goalball

Bruce and I are the only doctors here with the Canadian team. We cover the events that are higher risk: cycling for sure, then wheelchair basketball (men and women). The other events have therapists with them but we only go cover them, or be present during competition, when we are not committed to the other riskier ones. This is why I was on the run yesterday. Probably spent more time travelling in crazy traffic then being at event but athletes appreciate us being there when we can.

Goalball is played by athletes who are visually impaired. To make things completely equal, all athletes have their eyes covered by an occlusive tape then they wear blackout goggles that are checked by the refs to assure absolutely no light can come in. The lines on the court are raised for tactile location and orientation. The ball is about 3 pounds and has a bell in it that creates a  sound when it is thrown. The crowd has to be quiet so the players on the court can hear the throw and try to block it. 

Remo the massage therapist and Alix the athletic therapist
for the Canadian Athletics team.

Crazy game for basketball. The girls started strong and kicked up a decisive lead and shut the Mexican down. Then the Mexican started to be much more physical, jamming our tall center and shutting down our good shooters. It made it exciting especially in front of a loud crazy Mexican crowd. We couldn’t hear anything!

The women's basketball team looking for food variation
in the International Zone

 Everyone is tired of the food. Very limited in variations and basically the same every 2-3 meals. It's OK in quality but monotonous. Since most don't have enough time to go to the restaurants and they are in town, we head to the International Zone. This is an area still considered in the Village but not the residential area. It is where we find a bank, post office, a Parapan little shop, the Starbucks (!), a few counter food places where one can find great sandwiches, soft tacos, sushi and salads.

The basketball gym