Those requiring further persuasion about how much a competition like the Parapan American Games means to the athletes taking part only needed to have attended one of the raucous afternoon sessions at the Aquatics Center – or any of the 12 other venues for that matter.

“These are athletes who have decided to use sport to make sense of their lives,”  said Mexico’s First Lady Margarita Zavala, the president of the national Family Development Agency (DIF), who spent a good part of this week attending events in Guadalajara.

It’s a sharp observation and one that tends to rebut the argument that greater focus should be placed on participation in sport and less on competition.

It could even be argued that disabled sportsmen and women are more driven than their conventional counterparts. They thrive on the competition – whether it’s winning a medal or registering a personal best time – and are fiercely proud of competing under their national flags. And while disability sports may not garner much public interest outside a major games, just to witness how the energy of a cheering crowd can transmit itself to raise an athlete’s performance is a life-affirming experience.

While some feared that Parapans might have been an anticlimax after the successful Pan Ams, the passion of the Guadalajara crowds has stood out and been exemplary. Let’s hope it’s a taste of what’s to come. Many of the athletes competing in Guadalajara this week have achieved their goal and qualified for the London 2012 Paralympics. More than one million tickets have already been sold for these much-anticipated games.  Destiny awaits these determined people.

Click HERE to see photo gallery from the Parapan American Games.

PHOTOS BY MIKE ROJAS & JUANA CAZARES