His Royal Highness Prince Radu stated, on Wednesday, during the Elisabeta Palace Evening event dedicated to the National Paralympic Committee, organized on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, that sport and art are the first to suffer when economic, political and social difficulties arise.
”In recent years, you have had competitions of the greatest importance, such as the Paralympic Games. This year was a beautiful year with good results but also a difficult, tormented year, because all of humanity is going through moments of great uncertainty. In almost all countries of the world there is confusion and concern, neither the European Union, nor Romania, nor the surrounding allied countries have escaped this wave of unrest that is crossing the globe. Professions such as sports and art are the first to suffer when such economic, political and social difficulties arise in our countries. It is all the more admirable how you carry your faith and sports profession forward, as the daily realities are in no way in favor of sports or your organization. It is increasingly difficult to find the necessary funds to face a competition of great importance with dignity. It was simpler a few decades ago and, as time has passed, it has become increasingly complicated. But I am convinced that the year 2026 will bring you the opportunity for satisfaction, accomplishments and especially the opportunity to prove to your colleagues from the countries with which you compete that here in Romania there continues to be a living spirit in all the sports that Romanians practice and that you are carrying forward an important torch for Romanian society”, declared Prince Radu.
„It is a huge pride and an opportunity for satisfaction for us to stand with you, because through what you do you set an admirable example for Romanian society and you carry forward not only a tradition of social cause, sport, humanism, freedom and democracy, but you also carry forward a certain spirit, a certain human attitude, which does Romanian society very well to look at and be inspired by”, His Royal Highness also said.
The President of the National Paralympic Committee, Eduard Novak, stated that Romanian Paralympic sport has begun a new era and that the objective is for Romania to reach the top 15 nations in the world.
„For us, people with disabilities, it is a special day in which we can reflect on who we are, how we became people with disabilities, what we have been through. We have given hope to healthy people, maybe we have helped them overcome difficulties too. I think I can say that we have started a new era in Romanian Paralympic sport. In a few months, we have managed to overcome some difficulties, we have spread our wings and we have managed to obtain some very beautiful results and to leave our mark on Romanian Paralympic sport at an international level. We can say that we are at the beginning of the road. Romania has enormous potential, we will not succeed alone, but through various partnerships we will manage to change this environment that is not favorable to Romanian Paralympic sport. We have a lot to do both in terms of making sports facilities accessible and in making all institutions accessible, but with good „I am sure that we will succeed. We have very big goals with our athletes, to be able to represent the country as it should be, with as many athletes as possible and in as many disciplines as possible, to be in the top 10-15 in the world. We managed to create a beautiful group in a few months and I believe that we can grow tremendously in Paralympic sport and in 8-12 years Romanian Paralympic sport will certainly be a successful one. What we are doing is actually implementing Paralympic sport, because a few supports have worked so far. There are 29 sports that we have to coordinate and when I talk about coordination, we have to open a lot of sports, both summer and winter,” Novak said.
Multiple Paralympic medalist, Novak stated that in the spring of next year he will announce whether he will end his career as a paracyclist or compete in the 2028 Paralympic Games: „I will decide this winter and I will announce in the spring, when I should start training, whether I am thinking about Los Angeles or not. I was at the Paralympic Games as president of the cycling federation, I was as a minister, why wouldn’t I be president of the Paralympic Committee? It would be like an accomplishment”.
Paralympic archer Anda Arghir sent a message to Romanian society, stating that people with disabilities do not need pity and compassion and that Paralympic athletes can be considered examples.
„Today is a very special day for people with disabilities, but I think it is equally special for the people who are part of our lives, the people and institutions that support us. It is a day when we must applaud our achievements and not just talk about sports performance. In the gym there are people who have started families, who have stable jobs, who have managed to overcome their limits every day, despite the hardships of life, and I think that is the most important thing. Being a Paralympic athlete means more than training, more than competitions and more than representing Romania internationally. I think it is proof that it is possible. A Paralympic athlete manages to overcome trauma and demonstrate that it is possible and we can be an example for everyone. When we talk about inclusion, I want to say that we, the people with disabilities, we don’t need pity. Because pity doesn’t help at all. We want to be applauded for our achievements, to be promoted, to be supported from all points of view and more than that, we want to be an example and to change this perspective of society. Because today society only thinks about the need to help or compassion, but we only want to be applauded”, said Anda Arghir.AGERPRES
