The Paralympics begins August 24 in Tokyo, but for Team USA it will begin without swimmer Becca Meyers, who is Deaf-blind. This was to have been her third Paralympics. She was favored to medal after bringing home three golds and one silver in Rio in 2016 and setting records in subsequent international competitions.

Deaf-blind swimmer Becca Meyers in the pool, competing for Team USA.

However, in July, Meyers made the agonizing decision to quit the team after she was denied a personal care assistant (PCA). Roughly one-third of the US Paralympic swim team is visually-impaired, but Meyers is the only one who is also deaf. After a traumatizing experience navigating Rio on her own in 2016, Meyers' mother Maria has been allowed by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee to travel with her to international competitions as her PCA.

Citing restrictions due to COVID by the Tokyo Organizing Committee, the USOPC has defended their decision to only allow one PCA for the 34 member swim team, stating that there are six coaches who can also assist with personal needs.

Becca Meyers, quoted in The Washington Post, stated: “No one has ever asked me what I need. No one has ever asked me that question. When we had a meeting in May to discuss this, I presented my case and I said, ‘Okay, how do we make this work?’ They talked right over me. They dismissed me. They said, ‘This is what we have; you’re going to have to deal with it.’ ”

Ironic, isn't it, that organizers of a major event celebrating the achievements of disabled athletes, won't listen to those same athletes and provide the accommodations they need to succeed.

For more on this issue:
This deaf-blind Paralympian was told to navigate Tokyo alone. So she quit Team USA. (in English)

Swimmer Becca Meyers' Ordeal Shows Even The Paralympics Doesn't Listen To Disabled People (in English)

Sports make us more—
more determined, more powerful, more ourselves.
Sports have the power to change the world,
pushing people further and bringing people closer.
And sports shift the narrative from disabled to this abled.

moveunitedsports.org

The goal of a coach is to encourage and support athletes of all skill levels and abilities. That is why it is so important to create inclusive programs where athletes with disabilities can compete alongside athletes without disabilities.

An inclusive program promotes independence and acceptance. Often programs can be made inclusive with minimum adaptation. For example, for deaf athletes in team sports, a ref can raise a flag when blowing the whistle to stop play. Reflective stripes on a football could help a player with a visual impairment.

More information below:

Marcus Titus - Deaf Swimmer Who Fought for Cue Lights on Starting Blocks (in ASL)

In No Excuses: Growing Up Deaf and Achieving My Super Bowl Dreams, Seattle Seahawks fullback Derrick Coleman Jr.—the first deaf athlete to play offense in the NFL—tells his inspirational journey of persevering through every obstacle, remaining dedicated to the hard work and a no-excuses attitude that ultimately earned him a Super Bowl victory.

At the heart of his story is his unconventional family, whose one constant was always love. When Derrick was misunderstood as “difficult,” or bullied and laughed at by schoolmates, he removed his hearing aids and listened instead to his mother’s advice: Never let anyone else tell you how far you can go.

No Excuses is a motivating and unique testament to the human spirit, to the potential inside everyone who has ever faced difficult obstacles. It’s about aiming high in life, giving it your all, and never ever settling for excuses.

Published by Gallery/Jeter Publishing (2015)

Available in hardcover or ebook at these links:
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/no-excuses-growing-up-deaf/9781476796581-item.html

https://www.amazon.ca/No-Excuses-Growing-Achieving-Dreams/dp/1476796580/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=no+excuses+derrick+coleman&qid=1629760118&s=books&sr=1-1