Social Representations in sport Social representations of athletes with disabilities about paralympic sport in Brazil

Abstract

The objective was to understand the social representations of athletes with disabilities about Brazilian Paralympic sport. Twelve oral documents from athletes representing Brazil in Paralympic Games were consulted. After successive readings, two thematic axes were identified: Sports financing and Social and sports recognition. The information was analyzed through thematic coding. Results showed social representations of professional and amateur athletes. The lack of financial investment can make it difficult to stay in Paralympic sport. Although Paralympic sports financing has been more generous in recent years, there may be modalities with greater investments linked to the possibilities of achievements and to the management bodies. Another social representation identified is related to the recognition that society, the media, and peers with disabilities start to attribute to Paralympic athletes. Athletes often become benchmarks in the sports field for successors or may suffer from a lack of recognition.

KEYWORDS: para-athletes; disabled persons; sports; psychology social.