A celebrity or a misfit. The figure of the paralympic athlete in sports narrative

The example of the Olympics in Rio showed how much the declared acceptance of disability differs from the reality. In spite of the fact that Paralympic athletes often win more medals and awards at sports events, their presence in media and social discourse is unnoticeable. On the other hand, in the convention described as “inspiration porn”, impaired athletes are exposed and treated by media as models for overcoming various life difficulties, they are held up as examples not only for the disabled. Such a discrepancy of attitudes is best seen in sport that in view of its egalitarian principles should lead to levelling of differences. An obvious question arises regarding the mechanism responsible for such an ambivalent approach to disability. It cannot be explained by the lack of social and cultural interest in a given discipline, for the disabled people practice often the same sports as the healthy ones. An attempt at finding an answer to the question regarding the mechanism of erasing the disabled body from the space of the sports show shall be the main goal of the proposed article. Does the common understanding of sport as a tool consolidating social or national identity change when disabled people participate in sports competition? Hasn’t sport, in spite of its egalitarian ideals, become a tool to exclude otherness? And haven’t sport competitions become an attempt at extorting compliance with determined values? Don’t they serve to reinforce the socially demanded model of the individual? Should the answers be positive, we are faced again with the question regarding the relevance of practising and promoting sport of the disabled - is the character and identity of individuals truly shaped by the sports dispositif, or does it only serve to include sports competitions within the framework of political correctness? The relationship between sport and disability seems to be something more than only marginal attention given to Paralympics in media. It comprises issues of ethics of values, of domination and marginalisation, while embracing shaping processes of inter-group relations. Finally, it redefines the individual and his or her significance and legitimacy in the society