SEOUL, Reuter: The 1988 Seoul Para ‘Olympic games opened on Saturday in a joyful, often poignant ceremony that brought tears to spectators’ eyes and smiles to the faces of more than 3,000 disabled Competitors from 60 countries

About 50,000 people crowded into Seoul’s Olympic Stadium to watch the festivities, which closely followed the program for last month’s Olympic opening.

Parachutists in blue, red, black, yellow and green the colors of the Para Olympic emblem — swept down into the main stadium after children in wheel chairs and a drum procession paraded over the field.

Running with the help of a crutch, a one legged athlete with the South Korean Paralympic volleyball team brought the flame into the stadium to cheers.

He handed the torch to a 19 year old Athlete with Cerebral Palsy, who in turn passed it.to wheel chair bound teammate,

Article extracted from this publication >> October 21, 1988