A Sporting Chance by Lori Alexander

Author:Lori Alexander
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HMH Books

Chapter 11

The Stoke Mandeville Games

On July 29, 1948, Ludwig hosted an archery competition on the Stoke Mandeville lawn. Sixteen ex-service members, fourteen men and two women, from two hospitals participated in front of a few dozen spectators.

The first competitor aligned her wheelchair with a target across the grass. She placed an arrow to her bow and slowly pulled back the string—ready, aim, release! The arrow sliced through the air, barely missing the center target. Could the next person do better?

The competition lasted all afternoon. At the end of the day Ludwig presented a trophy to the Star and Garter Home, the hospital with the highest score. Although the demonstration was small, Ludwig proved that sports are for everyone. Only thirty-five miles from Stoke Mandeville, the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games was under way in London. Was it a coincidence that Ludwig scheduled his archery competition the very same day?

Ludwig and his coworkers continued to host the Stoke Mandeville Games every July. At first people laughed at the idea. They told Ludwig that wheelchair sports were ridiculous. They said no one would watch. But that didn’t stop him. By 1959, the annual event had grown from the original 16 archers to more than 350 athletes. They came from twenty countries to compete in eleven different sports. The number of spectators grew as well.

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