In every Paralympic athlete’s life, there is that one earth-shattering moment –- the one that steals any chance of leading a normal life.

And those working to promote the Paralympic Games want to make sure you take a good hard look at it. (H/T AdWeek).

In Channel 4’s adrenalin pumping, unapologetically graphic 90-second spot, the producers invite you to stare at the stump of a one-legged runner and the eyes of the blind swimmer as they hit the Paralympic stage with unstoppable force.

“We really didn’t want to shoot around the particular physical attributes of these athletes and their disabilities,” Director Tom Tagholm told Channel 4. “We wanted to absolutely embrace all of that –- their stance, the ways they’ve adapted to their sport, the ways that they use their bodies.”

But the moving images of these tenacious athletes ramming into one another’s wheelchairs and pumping their hand cranks in the pouring rain are overtaken midway by the harsh circumstances that forever changed these athletes’ lives.

A car flips over on a highway. A solemn pregnant woman paces at the hospital. A soldier is thrown back by an explosion on the battlefield.

By interspersing these dark memories with all of the goose bump-inducing, inspirational heart pumping action you could ever ask for in a commercial, the producers remind viewers that the finish line at the Games is not where this story starts or ends.

“What I wanted to do though was just get a flashback moment –- to show that it’s a part of what they are now and a part of their physicality,” Tagholm told the news outlet. "I didn’t want to dwell on it, just to give a hint, a moment of just how tough these characters have had to be."

Click through the slideshow below to see even more inspiring images of Paralympic athletes.
SLIDESHOW:

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  • Maya Nakanishi

    In this photo taken Saturday, July 7, 2012, Paralympic athlete Maya Nakanishi, right, competes with Saki Takakuwa in the women's 100-meter final at the 17th Handicapped Truck and Field Championships in Tokyo. Nakanishi is one of Japan's most promising track and field athletes and is now on her way to the London Olympics. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

  • Monique van der Vorst

    Monique van der Vorst has completed a remarkable transformation: from Paralympian to road racing cyclist with a top team. The Dutch 27-year-old was signed by the Rabobank women's team on Nov. 25, 2011, meaning the former wheelchair and handcycle racer will now line up against elite able-bodied riders. (AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski, file)

  • Scott Moorhouse

    Torchbearer Scott Moorhouse, a Paralympic javelin thrower stands with Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, before running with the Olympic flame along Tottenham High Road past the remnants of a branch of carpet retailer Carpet Right that was burnt down during last year's riots on July 25, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

  • David Smith

    Paralympic Champion and member of British boccia team, David Smith prepares to throw a ball during a game of paralympic sport of boccia at Trafalgar Square in London to celebrate two years to go until the London 2012 Paralympic Games , Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

  • Cameron Leslie

    Paralympic swimmer Cameron Leslie poses for portrait at the Millennium Pool on March 26, 2012 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Johnston/Getty Images)