Summer and Winter Paralympic medallist Candace Cable has been appointed the latest vice-chair of the Los Angeles 2024 Bid Committee, it has been announced.
Widely considered a pioneer of wheelchair racing, Cable began competing four years after a car accident aged 21 left her with a spinal cord injury.
She finished third in an 800 metres demonstration race at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games before participating in five summer and five winter Paralympic editions, where she has competed in both Alpine and Nordic events.
Cable became the first American woman to win medals in both the Summer and the Winter Paralympic Games, with eight golds in a 12 medal haul.
She also won six editions of the Boston Marathon in the 1980s.
“As an Angeleno, I couldn’t be more excited to join the team working to bring the Games back to a city that loves them,” Cable said.
“There’s no place in the world that is home to more Olympians and Paralympians than Los Angeles, and that’s no coincidence.
“Thanks to our gorgeous weather, world-class facilities, and a palpable love for sports wherever you go, I feel strongly that LA would be the perfect stage for the world’s greatest sports celebration to take place in 2024.”
Since announcing her retirement from competition in 2008, Cable has consulted charities, Government and sports groups as part of the Open Doors Organization on creating best environments for those with disabilities.
She is therefore seen as instrumental in ensuring that a Games here in 2024 will provide the best possible athlete experience for both Olympians and Paralympians
“Candace’s insights will be invaluable to LA 2024 as our bid progresses,” added Los Angeles 2024 chairman Casey Wasserman.
“Candace embodies LA 2024’s guiding principles – she’s a hard-working, hard-dreaming optimist at the cutting edge of her field.
“Candace is always imagining ‘what’s next’ in terms of the adaptive sport movement, but also more broadly in terms of how to ensure equal opportunities for people with disabilities and how to make our world more accessible.”
The announcement comes after online criticism of the Los Angeles 2024 bid logo for not specifically mentioning the Paralympic as well as the Olympic Games, even though the guidelines for all bids stipulate that they must have separate logos.
Cable’s appointment can therefore be interpreted as an attempt to show how seriously LA organisers are treating both editions of the Games.
She will join other vice chairs: basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, community leader María Elena Durazo and Olympic swimming champion Janet Evans.
- By Nick Butler at the Beverly Hills Hilton in Los Angeles
- Republished with permission insidethegames.biz