Reception for the Slovenian Paralympic team

Brdo pri Kranju, 13.9.2012  |  press release

The President of the Republic, Dr Danilo Türk and his wife, Barbara Mikliè Türk, hosted a reception for the Slovenian Paralympic team at the closing of the 14th Paralympic Games 2012 in London. In his opening address, the President of the Republic welcomed the team members upon their return to Slovenia. He stressed that the Paralymic movement has become very noticeable in recent years. The fact that the organisers of the Olympic Games explicitly declared this year as the year of the Olympic and Paralympic Games testifies to its recognition, and also, the public gave a lot of attention to the Paralympic Games. The President expressed his satisfaction that progress has also been made among the Slovenian public, among people and in the media.

The President of the Republic emphasised that the Paralympic Games demonstrate important qualities. Youthful energy was reflected at the Games, which was incorporated in the competitions with strict rules. According to the President, we must also respect willpower, seriousness of endeavours and the results of our Paralymic team. The President noted particularly the Olympic medal won by Franèek Gorazd Tir¹ek, the great achievement of swimmer Darko Ğuriæ and the successes of other Slovenian Paralympians, which were frequently mentioned in the Slovenian media. The President expressed his certainty that Paralympic sports disciplines will be even more recognised, followed and understood in the future.

The President mentioned that he and his wife attended this year’s final game of the European Wheelchair Basketball Championship in La¹ko. He added that they would be happy to attend other competitions of sportsmen and women with disabilities, because they are interested to see advances in their sports.

The President stressed that this is a year of important anniversaries in Slovenia. Among them, he mentioned the 40th anniversary of participation of Slovenian sportsmen and women in the Paralympic Games and the first Slovenian medal won by Jo¾e Okoren. These 40 years of experience produced important results, added the President, who pointed out that in this period, Slovenian sportsmen and women won as many as 50 Paralympic medals. In conclusion, the President expressed his hope that the Olympic and Paralympic idea would continue to be nurtured in the period between individual Games.

On behalf of the entire Slovenian Paralympic Team, Franèek Gorazd Tir¹ek thanked the President for the reception and presented him with a photograph of all the Slovenian participants at this year’s Paralympic Games. He stressed that they functioned as a homogeneous team in London and that the entire team, including expert management, physiotherapists, organisers and all who contributed to the team spirit are responsible for the Paralympic medal. On behalf of the Sports Federation for the Disabled of Slovenia and the Paralympic Committee of Slovenia, Jo¾e Okoren added that we must further develop sports for the disabled, particularly in expert support. Okoren thanked the President for his support for the activities of organisations for the disabled.