Who is Boy Levinus Waroy? If you like watching a sports event, take some time to watch the Paralympics as well. This para-swimming athlete from West Papua won a gold medal in the men’s 50-meter breaststroke swimming match of the S5 classification in National Paralympics Week (or Peparnas, Pekan Paralimpiade Nasional) at the Papua Bangkit Aquatic Stadium, Jayapura, last year.
At that time, Boy admitted that his victory would not have happened without the support from his coach and family. It was also his very first, which had made him feel very proud as well. Before that, Boy was working some odd jobs. Growing up in Dok V Bawah, Boy is the son of a fisherman’s family.
Boy reached the finish line in 53.83 seconds. His rival from West Kalimantan, Samson Abraham, finished in 56.31 seconds. The second runner-up was another Paralympic athlete from Jakarta, Feri Anggara. He finished in 1 minute and 8.03 seconds.
After receiving the gold medal, Boy was greeted right away by his family in the stadium. That moment was filled with emotions and joyful smiles. His gold medal was also the very first for the contingent from West Papua in the para-swimming team. No wonder it was a great celebration.
The Grueling Training
According to Daniel Carlos Patay, a senior athlete and a para-swimming coach from West Papua, the deployed athletes for the sports event had been training on the open seas. It was then a week before the event that the athletes had just started training in the stadium.
Carlos admitted that, from the very beginning, his team was not too ambitious in expecting to earn a lot of gold medals. After all, it was the athletes’ debut performance in the sports event. His target had been to just earn a single gold medal for that.
The History of Peparnas
The 16th National Paralympics Week (or Peparnas, Pekan Paralimpiade Nasional) was held in Jayapura, West Papua, from the 5th to 15th of November 2021. There were 12 sports in the game: weightlifting, athletics, boccia, badminton, chess, judo, shooting, archery, swimming, football, tennis, and table tennis.
There were 12 sports venues used in West Papua for this sports event. Six of them were in the City of Jayapura, while the other six were in the Region of Jayapura. The opening was done in Mandala Stadium, with a speech from K.H.Ma’aruf Amin, the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia.
Regarding the facilities, Zainuddin Amali, the Minister of Youth and Sports, stated that the facilities for Peparnas would be of the same quality as the ones for the National Sports Week (PON or Pekan Olahraga Nasional) XX, which would also be held in West Papua that same year.
Hans Hamadi, the Vice Chairman of PB Peparnas XVI, stated that the success of this sports event for athletes with disabilities would be the pride of the Papuans.
“This shows that the Papuans can organize a national-scale event,” Hans stated. “Since this is about the pride of the Papuans, then the event must run smoothly and successfully.”
The Benefits of Doing Paralympic Sports for Boy Levinus Waroy and Other Athletes with Disabilities
Boy Levinus Waroy is not the only professional athlete with disabilities. There are still many others out there. It is a great thing for West Papua to run a sports event for Paralympic athletes. There are many benefits of doing sports for Paralympic athletes as well:
- Hillary Beeton, an occupational and athletic therapist for the South African Sports Association for the Physically Disabled and the International Paralympic Committee, stated that regular exercises could increase their skills, abilities, and confidence.
- “This activity also reduces their stress – and their temper does not flare up easily, compared to those other athletes who are not as active,” Beeton added.
- Meanwhile, Shephard RJ from the Faculty of Health at the University of Toronto, Canada, wrote in his research about this too. He wrote that regular exercise has both psychological and sociological benefits.
- According to Shephard’s research report in the Scandinavian Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, the psychological benefits for these athletes doing sports include improving their moods and reducing their anxiety and depression. Regular workouts help them to increase self-esteem and confidence.
- In addition, from the sociological benefits, athletes with disabilities will help them gain new experiences, new friends, and resistance to stigmatization.
Of course, the sports have to be suitable – according to their capabilities. That way, they can still participate well without feeling too self-conscious.
When it comes to inclusivity, what we all need is more than just equality. We need more equity in terms of sports for them. This is the whole point of having the regular Olympics and Paralympics in the first place.
Boy Levinus Waroy may just be getting started in his para-swimming career. Hopefully, after his first gold medal, this young and promising athlete from West Papua will achieve more and can inspire other young Papuans to follow him.