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Further information:IWAS World Games

Paralympic Games
Paralympic Agitos
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Disability
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TheParalympic GamesorParalympics,also known as theGames of the Paralympiad,is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range ofdisabilities.There areWinterandSummer Paralympic Games,which since the 1988 Summer Olympics inSeoul, South Korea,have been held shortly after the correspondingOlympic Games.All Paralympic Games are governed by theInternational Paralympic Committee(IPC).

The Paralympics began as a small gathering of BritishWorld War IIveterans in1948.The 1960 Games in Rome drew 400 athletes with disabilities from 23 countries, as proposed by doctor Antonio Maglio. Currently it is one of the largest international sporting events: the2020 Summer Paralympicsfeaturing 4,520 athletes from 163National Paralympic Committees.[1]Paralympians strive for equal treatment with non-disabled Olympic athletes, but there is a large funding gap between Olympic and Paralympic athletes.[2][circular reporting?]

The Paralympic Games are organized in parallel with and in a similar way to the Olympic Games. TheIOC-recognizedSpecial Olympics World Gamesinclude athletes with intellectual disabilities (although since 1992, people with intellectual disabilities also participate in the Paralympic Games), and theDeaflympicsheld since 1924 are exclusive for deaf athletes.[3][4]

Given the wide variety of disabilities ofPara athletes,there are several categories in which they compete. The allowable disabilities are divided into ten eligible impairment types: impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference,short stature,hypertonia,ataxia,athetosis,vision impairmentandintellectual impairment.[5]These categories are further divided into various subcategories.

Forerunners

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SirLudwig Guttmann

Athletes with disabilities at the Olympic Games

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Athletes with disabilities did compete at the Olympic Games prior to the advent of the Paralympics. The first athlete to do so wasGerman-AmericangymnastGeorge Eyserin1904,who had one artificial leg.Olivér Halassy,a Hungarian amputee water polo player, competed in three successive Olympic Games, beginning in1928.[6]HungarianKároly Takácscompeted in shooting events in both the1948and1952Summer Olympics. He was a right-armamputeeand could shoot left-handed. Another athlete with a disability who appeared in the Olympics prior to the Paralympic Games wasLis Hartel,aDanishequestrian athlete who had contracted polio in 1943 and won a silver medal in thedressageevent in the1952 Summer Olympics.[7]

Stoke Mandeville Games

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The first organized athletic event for athletes with disabilities that coincided with the Olympic Games took place on the day of the opening of the1948 Summer Olympicsin London. TheGerman-JewishdoctorLudwig Guttmann,ofStoke Mandeville Hospital,[8]who had fledNazi Germanywith the help of theCouncil for Assisting Refugee Academics(CARA) in 1939,[9]hosted a sports competition for British World War II veteran patients with spinal cord injuries. The first games were called the1948 International Wheelchair Games,and were intended to coincide with the 1948 Olympics.[10]Guttman's aim was to create an elite sports competition for people with disabilities that would be equivalent to the Olympic Games. The games were held at the same location each year, and in 1952DutchandIsraeliveterans took part alongside the British, making it the first international competition of its own kind. In 1960, the 9th annual games took place outside of the UK for the first time inRome,to coincide with the1960 Summer Olympicswhich were also being held in Rome. These were to be later designated the1st Paralympic Games.[11]

These early competitions have been described as the precursors of the Paralympic Games, and Stoke Mandeville holds a similar place in the history of the Paralympic movement as Greece holds in the Olympic Games; since 2012, the Paralympic flame has incorporated a "heritage flame" lit at Stoke Mandeville, although it was combined with flames lit in the host country for the formal start of the torch relay. Beginning in2024,future Paralympic torch relays will officially begin in Stoke Mandeville, as an equivalent to the Olympic flame being created inOlympia.[12][13][14]

Milestones

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Further information:Chronology of the Paralympic Movement

There have been several milestones in the Paralympic movement. The first official Paralympic Games, coincident with the ninthStoke Mandeville Gamesbut no longer open solely to war veterans, was held in Rome in1960.[15]They were the brainchild of Antonio Maglio, a friend and follower of Guttmann and were financed almost entirely by Maglio's employer, the Workers National Accident Insurance Fund of Italy, then led byRenato Morelli,who was also Chairman of the International Social Security Association.[16]Four hundred athletes from 23 countries competed at the 1960 Games. Since 1960, the Paralympic Games have taken place in the same year as the Olympic Games.[17][18]The Games were initially open only to athletes in wheelchairs; at the1976 Summer Games,athletes with different disabilities were included for the first time at a Summer Paralympics.[10]With the inclusion of more disability classifications the 1976 Summer Games expanded to 1,600 athletes from 40 countries.[17]

The1988 Summer ParalympicsinSeoulwas another milestone for the Paralympic movement. It was in Seoul that the Paralympic Summer Games were held directly after the1988 Summer Olympics,in the same host city, and using the majority of the venues. This set a precedent that was followed in1992,1996and2000.It was eventually formalized in an agreement between theInternational Paralympic Committee(IPC) and theInternational Olympic Committee(IOC) in 2001,[17][19]and was extended through 2020.[20]On March 10, 2018, the two committees further extended their contract to 2032.[21]Despite being held in the same region, the1992 Winter Paralympicsused different competition venues than those used for the Olympic Games.1994 Winter Paralympicswere the first Winter Games to use the same venues and had the same Organizing Committee as theWinter Olympics.

Winter Games

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Main article:Winter Paralympic Games

The first Winter Paralympic Games were held in1976inÖrnsköldsvik,Sweden. This was the first Paralympics in which multiple categories of athletes with disabilities could compete.[17]The Winter Games were celebrated every four years on the same year as their summer counterpart, just as the Olympics were. This tradition was upheld through the1992 GamesinAlbertville,France; after that, beginning with the1994 Games,the Winter Paralympics and theWinter Olympicshave been held in those even-numbered years separate from the Summer Olympics. The winter games happen two years after the summer games.[17]

International Paralympic Committee

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A white building with trees next to it fronting a street with a car driving past
IPC headquarters inBonn
The first Paralympic symbol (1988–1994) used fivepa.

TheInternational Paralympic Committeeis the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. It comprises 178[22]National Paralympic Committees(NPC) and four disability-specific international sports federations.[23]The president of the IPC isAndrew Parsons.The IPC's international headquarters are inBonn,Germany.[24]The IPC is responsible for organizing the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. It also serves as the International Federation for nine sports (Paralympic athletics,Paralympic swimming,Paralympic archery,Paralympic powerlifting,Para-alpine skiing,Paralympic biathlon,Paralympic cross-country skiing,ice sledge hockeyandWheelchair DanceSport). This requires the IPC to supervise and coordinate the World Championships and other competitions for each of the nine sports it regulates.[25]

IPC membership also includes National Paralympic Committees[22]and international sporting federations.[26]International Federations are independent sport federations recognized by theIPCas the sole representative of a Paralympic Sport. International Federations responsibilities include technical jurisdiction and guidance over the competition and training venues of their respective sports during the Paralympic Games. The IPC also recognizes media partners, certifies officials, judges, and is responsible for enforcing the bylaws of theParalympic Charter.[27]

Since its creation in 1989, IPC has a cooperative relationship with theInternational Olympic Committee(IOC). Delegates of the IPC are also members of the IOC and participate on IOC committees and commissions. The two governing bodies remain distinct, with separate Games, despite the close working relationship.[28]

The Paralympic Games were designed to emphasize the participants' athletic achievements and not their disability. Recent games have emphasized that these games are about ability and not disability.[25]The movement has grown dramatically since its early days – for example, the number of athletes participating in the Summer Paralympic Games has increased from 400 athletes in Rome in 1960 to 4,342 athletes from 159 countries in Rio de Janeiro in2016.[29]Both the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games are recognized on the world stage.

Unlike the Olympic Games, English is the official language of the Paralympic movement. The other languages used at each Paralympic Games are the official languages of the host country or host region. Every proclamation (such as the announcement of each country during the parade of nations in the opening ceremony) is spoken in these two or more languages.

Name and symbols

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Main article:Paralympic symbols
A flag with three red, green, and blue swooshes on a white background. It is attached to a flagpole and is framed by a blue sky
TheParalympic flag

Although the name was originally coined as a portmanteau combiningparaplegic(due to its origins as games for people with spinal injuries) andOlympic,[30]the inclusion of other disability groups meant that this was no longer considered very accurate. The present formal explanation for the name is that it derives from the Greek prepositionπαρά,pará('beside' or 'alongside') and thus refers to a competition held in parallel with theOlympic Games.[31]TheSummer Games of 1988held in Seoul was the first time the termParalympiccame into official use.

"Spirit in Motion" is the current motto for the Paralympic movement. The current Paralympic flag is used since 2020 and contains three colours, red, blue, and green, which are the colours most widely represented in the flags of nations. The colours are each in the shape of an Agito (which is Latin for 'I move/I shake/I stir'), which is the name given to an asymmetrical crescent specially designed for the Paralympic movement. The three Agitos circle a central point, which is a symbol for the athletes congregating from all points of the globe.[32]The motto and symbol of the IPC were changed in 2003 to their current versions. The change was intended to convey the idea that Paralympians have a spirit of competition and that the IPC as an organization realizes its potential and is moving forward to achieve it. The vision of the IPC is, "To enable Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to inspire and excite the world."[33]The Paralympic anthem is "Hymne de l'Avenir" or "Anthem of the Future". It was composed byThierry Darnisand adopted as the official anthem in March 1996.[34]

Ceremonies

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Opening

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A portion of the stadium with stands full of people, a large artificial tree is on the right side of the image. A group of people are walking together on the stadium floor
Opening ceremony of the2004 Summer ParalympicsinAthens

As mandated by the Paralympic Charter, various elements frame the opening ceremonies of the Paralympic Games. Most of these rituals were established are the same that1920 Summer Olympicsin Antwerp and were shared with theOlympic Games.[35]The Opening ceremony typically starts with the hoisting of the host country's flag and a performance of its national anthem. Immediately after the welcome act and the host country anthem and hosting their flag the "Parade of Nations" starts with the athletes into the stadium grouped by nation. Since the1960 Summer Paralympics,the nations enter the stadium Alpha betically according to the host country's or region official language, though with the host country's athletes being the last to enter. Beginning with the 2020 Summer Paralympics, the succeeding hosts of the respective Olympic Games (summer or winter) will enter immediately before the current host in descending order. The host nation presents artistic displays of their culture and folklore.

Protocolary segments are held with the speeches given, formally opening the games. After the opening declaration, the Paralympic flag enters the stadium and is hosted along with the Paralympic Anthem, aside from the host country flag, and the oaths by athletes, coaches, and judges are taken. Finally, the Paralympic flame is brought into the stadium and passed on until it reaches the final torch carrier—often a Paralympic athlete from the host nation—who lights the Paralympic flame in the stadium's cauldron.[36]

Closing

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The closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games takes place after all sporting events have concluded. Flag-bearers from each participating country enter, followed by the athletes who enter together, without any national distinction. TheParalympic flagis taken down. Since the1988 Winter Paralympics,with some exceptions, the national flag of the country hosting the next Summer or Winter Paralympic Games is hoisted while the corresponding national anthem is played. The games are officially closed, and the Paralympic flame is extinguished.[37]After these compulsory elements, the next host nation briefly introduces itself with artistic displays of dance and theater representative of its culture.

Medal presentation

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six men stand together wearing Paralympic medals and waving flower bouquets
A medal ceremony during the 2010 Winter Paralympics

A medals ceremony is held after the conclusion of each Paralympic event. The winner, second and third-place competitors or teams stand on top of a three-tiered rostrum when they are awarded their respective medal by an IPC member. The national flags of the medalists are then raised while thenational anthemof the gold medalist is played.[38]Volunteering citizens of the host country also act as hosts during the medal ceremonies, as they aid the officials who present the medals and act as flag-bearers.[39]For every Paralympic event, the respective medal ceremony is held, at most, one day after the event's final.

Equality

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Relationship with the Olympics

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In June 2001, theInternational Olympic Committee(IOC) and theInternational Paralympic Committee(IPC) signed an agreement that would ensure that the staging of the Paralympic Games is automatically included in the bid for theOlympic Games.[40]The agreement was set to take effect at the2008 Paralympic Summer Gamesin Beijing and the2010 Paralympic Winter Gamesin Vancouver. However, theSalt Lake 2002 Organizing Committee(SLOC) chose to follow the practice of "one bid, one city", with oneOrganizing Committeefor both Games, which was followed up by the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. The agreement was adjusted in 2003. An extension was signed in June 2006, after some troubles at the2006 Winter Paralympics.[40]Initially agreed to remain in effect until the 2012 Summer Olympics,[17]this was later extended to encompass all Summer and Winter games up until the 2020 Summer Olympics.[41][42]Even beyond this, all Summer and Winter host cities currentlyannounced are preparing pairs of Olympic and Paralympics Games. This was further confirmed when on 10 March 2018, the IOC and the IPC agreed to further extend the contract to the 2032 Summer Olympics.[21]

The IOC has written its commitment to equal access to athletics for all people into itscharter,which states,[43]

The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play....Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.

While the charter is silent on discrimination specifically related to disability; given the language in the charter regarding discrimination it is reasonable to infer that discrimination on the basis of disability would be against the ideals of the Olympic Charter and the IOC.[44]This is also consistent with the Paralympic Charter, which forbids discrimination on the basis of political, religious, economic, disability, gender, sexual orientation or racial reasons.[45]

Chairman of theLondon organising committee,Sebastian Coe,said about the2012 Summer Paralympicsand2012 Summer Olympicsin London, England, that, "We want to change public attitudes towards disability, celebrate the excellence of Paralympic sport and to enshrine from the very outset that the two Games are an integrated whole."[46]

The2014 Winter Paralympic Gamesis the first such Paralympics hosted by Russia. Russia ratified the UNConvention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilitiesduring that period. Notably at 2010 Vancouver, theirParalympic teamtopped the medal table at theWinter Paralympics,while theirOlympic teamperformed well below expectations at theWinter Olympics.This led the media to highlight the contrast between the achievements of the country's Olympic and Paralympic delegations, despite the greater attention and funding awarded to the Olympic athletes.[47]TheRussian Federationorganizers of the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games have, since 2007, made efforts to make the host city Sochi more accessible.[48]

In 2012, as part of its prohibition on unauthorised advertising, the Paralympic movement began requiring any tattoo of theOlympic ringsto be covered during competition, on the basis that the Olympics is technically a third-party organisation. In 2024 the prohibition was ended after protests from athletes.[49]

Paralympians at the Olympics

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See also:List of athletes who have competed in the Paralympics and Olympics
A man in a spandex singlet runs on a track. He has two prosthetics below the knees
Oscar Pistoriusat a track meet on 8 July 2007

Paralympic athleteshave sought equal opportunities to compete at the Olympic Games. The precedent was set byNeroli Fairhall,a Paralympic archer fromNew Zealand,who competed at the1984 Summer Olympicsin Los Angeles.[50] In 2008,Oscar Pistorius,aSouth Africansprinter, attempted to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Pistorius had both his legs amputated below the knee and races with two carbon fibre blades manufactured byÖssur.He holds the Paralympic world record in the 400 meter event.[51]Pistorius missed qualifying for the2008 Summer Olympicsin the 400 meter race, by 0.70 seconds. He qualified for the2008 Summer Paralympicswhere he won gold medals in the 100, 200, and 400 meter sprints.[52]

In 2011, Pistorius qualified for the2012 Summer Olympicsand competed in two events: he made the semi-final in the400 metresrace; and his team came 8th in the final of the4 × 400 metres relayrace.[53]Even though all athletes are given equal opportunities to participate in these events, such as the 400 meter race, there has been growing criticism that the games may not be fair to all athletes. For example, athletes running a race with a left prosthetic leg may be disadvantaged compared to those with a right side prosthesis because the races are run in an anticlockwise direction, giving some athletes an advantage.[54]

Some athletes without a disability also compete at the Paralympics. Thesighted guidesfor athletes with a visual impairment are such a close and essential part of the competition that the athlete with visual impairment and the guide are considered a team, and both athletes are medal candidates.[55]

Funding

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Starting at the 1992 Summer Paralympics, recent games have also been supported by contributions from major sponsors. Unlike the Olympics, where the IOC mandates that arenas be clean of sponsor logos, the Paralympics do allow the logos of official sponsors to be displayed inside arenas and on uniforms.[56]

Media coverage

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While the Olympic Games have experienced tremendous growth in global media coverage since the1984 Summer Paralympics,the Paralympics had been slower to develop a consistent mainstream media presence. In June 2023, IPC executives noted that interest in the Paralympics had been improving among broadcasters, citing that that it had already reached rights deals for the2024 Summer Paralympicscovering 75% of the world over a year in advance (in comparison to2020,where many deals were made "last minute" ), and that it had been pushing for broader coverage and increased rights fees since broadcasters were starting to "[realize] that [the Paralympics are] actually a great sporting event", and not treat them as a low-effort obligation bundled with their Olympics rights. Unlike the Olympics, the IPC holds the digital rights to the Paralympics in some markets, allowing it to promote live coverage and other highlights via its ownsocial mediaplatforms toengageonline audiences.[57]

Television broadcasts of Paralympic Games began in 1976, but this early coverage was confined to tape-delayed broadcasts to one nation or region. At the 1992 Summer Paralympics, there were 45 hours of live coverage but it was available only in Europe. Other countries broadcast highlight packages during the Games. No meaningful improvements in coverage occurred until the2000 Summer Paralympicsin Sydney.

The 2000 Paralympics represented a significant increase in global media exposure for the Paralympic Games. A deal was reached between the Sydney Paralympic Organizing Committee (SPOC) and All Media Sports (AMS) to broadcast the Games internationally. Deals were reached with Asian, South American, and European broadcast companies to distribute coverage to as many markets as possible. The Games were also webcast for the first time. Because of these efforts, the Sydney Paralympics reached a global audience estimated at 300 million people.[58]Also significant was the fact that the organizers did not have topay networksto televise the Games as had been done at the1992and1996Games.[59]

Despite these advances, consistent media attention has been a challenge, which was evidenced in the coverage in Great Britain of the2010 Winter Paralympics.TheBBCwas criticized for its minimal coverage of the 2010 Winter Paralympics as compared to its coverage of the2010 Winter Olympics.The BBC announced it would stream some content on its website and show a one-hour highlight program after the Games ended. For the Winter Olympics the BBC aired 160 hours of coverage. The response from the BBC was that budget constraints and the "time zone factor" necessitated a limited broadcast schedule.[60]The reduction in coverage was done in spite of increased ratings for the2008 Summer Paralympics,which was watched by 23% of the population of Great Britain.[60]In Norway, theNorwegian Broadcasting Corporation(NRK) broadcast 30 hours of the 2010 Winter Games live. NRK-sport were critical of parts of the TV production from Vancouver, and notified theEBUof issues such as thebiathloncoverage excluding the shooting, andcross-country skiingwith skiers in the distance, making it hard to follow the progress of the competition. NRK were far more pleased with the production of theice sledge hockeyandwheelchair curlingevents, which they felt reached the same level as the Olympic Games.[61]

Not all Paralympic events have received television coverage; the IPC and its organisers currently contract with the IOC's media unitOlympic Broadcasting Services(OBS) to produce the broadcast feeds for the Paralympics. At the Summer Paralympics, coverage was limited to 16 sports in 2016, but increased to 19 sports in 2020. In 2024, all 22 Summer Paralympic sports were televised for the first time.[57]

In the UK,Channel 4assumed the television rights beginning in the2012 Summer Paralympics,promising major increases in coverage on television and digital platforms, efforts to heighten the Games' profile, and commitments to incorporate people with disabilities among its staff and presenters.[62][63]Its coverage of the Paralympics have been promoted through major marketing campaigns; several of its advertisements have wonCannes Lionsawards, with its trailer for 2016 "We're the Superhumans"receiving an overall Grand Prix award.[64][65]In January 2020, the Paralympics were classified as aCategory A "listed" eventby the British telecom regulatorOfcomas with the Olympics, mandating that they be broadcast in whole or in part by a free-to-air network, as with the Olympics.[66]Channel 4 reported that its coverage of the2024 Summer Paralympicswas seen by a total audience of 20 million, with the channel achieving its highest viewer share since the 2012 Paralympics.[67]

Outside the Games

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A 2010 study by theUniversity of British Columbia(UBC) on the Olympic Games Impact (OGI), showed that of roughly 1,600 Canadian respondents, 41 to 50 percent believed the2010 ParalympicandOlympic GamesinVancouver,British Columbia, Canada, triggered additional accessibility of buildings, sidewalks and public spaces. 23 percent of employers said the Games had increased their willingness to hire people with disabilities.[68]

Chief Executive Officer for the International Paralympic Committee Xavier Gonzalez said about the2008 Summer ParalympicsinBeijing,China, that:

In China, the (Paralympic) Games were really a transformation tool for changing attitudes across the board in China towards people with disability, to building accessibility facilities in the city, to changing laws to allow people with a disability to be part of society.[69]

Down syndrome participation

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Within the framework of the International Olympic Committee's commitment to equal access to athletics, concerns have been raised regarding inclusion of athletes withDown syndromein the Paralympic Games. While the Paralympic movement strives for inclusivity, the absence of a specific classification for athletes with Down syndrome within Paralympic swimming events raises questions about equal and fair competition for Down syndrome athletes.

International Paralympic CommitteePara-swimming classificationcodes are based upon single impairment only, whereas Down syndrome individuals have both physical and intellectual impairments. Although swimmers with Down syndrome are able to compete in theS14intellectual impairment category (provided they score low in IQ tests), they are often outmatched by the superior physicality of their opponents.[70][71]At present there is no designated Paralympic category for swimmers with Down syndrome, meaning they have to compete as intellectually disadvantaged athletes. This disregards their physical disabilities.[72][73]

A number of advocacy groups globally have been lobbying for the inclusion of a distinct classification category for Down syndrome swimmers within the IPC Classification Codes framework.[74]Initiatives aimed at promoting greater inclusivity within the Paralympic movement have emerged, including advocacy and awareness-raising efforts targeting discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities for athletes with Down syndrome.[75]Despite ongoing advocacy, the issue remains unresolved, and swimmers with Down syndrome continue to face challenges in accessing appropriate classification pathways.[76]

Classification

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Further information:Disability sport classification
A woman sitting on sit-skis, she is pushing herself with two poles
Olena IurkovskaofUkrainecompeting on cross-country sit-skis at the 2010 Winter Paralympics

TheInternational Paralympic Committee(IPC) has established ten disability categories. Athletes are divided within each category according to their level of impairment, in a functional classification system which differs from sport to sport.

Categories

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The IPC has established ten disability categories, including physical, visual, and intellectual impairment. Athletes with one of these disabilities can compete in the Paralympics, though not every sport can allow for every disability category. These categories apply to both Summer and Winter Paralympics.[77]

Physical Impairment– There are eight different types of physical impairment:

  • Impaired muscle power– With impairments in this category, the force generated by muscles, such as the muscles of one limb, one side of the body or the lower half of the body is reduced, (e.g.spinal cord injury,spina bifida,post-polio syndrome).
  • Impaired passive range of movement– The range of movement in one or more joints is reduced in a systematic way. Acute conditions such asarthritisare not included.
  • Loss of limb or limb deficiency– A total or partial absence of bones or joints frompartial or total lossdue to illness, trauma, or congenital limb deficiency (e.g.,dysmelia).
  • Leg-length difference– Significant bone shortening occurs in one leg due to congenital deficiency or trauma.
  • Short stature– Standing height is reduced due to shortened legs, arms and trunk, which are due to a musculoskeletal deficit of bone or cartilage structures. (e.g.,achondroplasia,growth hormone deficiency,osteogenesis imperfecta)
  • Hypertonia– Hypertonia is marked by an abnormal increase in muscle tension and reduced ability of a muscle to stretch. Hypertonia may result from injury, disease, or conditions which involve damage to the central nervous system (e.g.,cerebral palsy).
  • Ataxia– Ataxia is an impairment that consists of a lack of coordination of muscle movements (e.g.,cerebral palsy,Friedreich's ataxia,multiple sclerosis).
  • Athetosis– Athetosis is generally characterized by unbalanced, involuntary movements and a difficulty maintaining a symmetrical posture (e.g.,cerebral palsy,choreoathetosis).

Visual impairment– Athletes withvisual impairmentranging from partial vision, sufficient to be judgedlegally blind,to totalblindness.This includes impairment of one or more component of the visual system (eye structure, receptors, optic nerve pathway, and visual cortex).[77]Thesighted guidesfor athletes with a visual impairment are such a close and essential part of the competition that the athlete with visual impairment and the guide are considered a team. Beginning in 2012, these guides along with sightedgoalkeepersin5-a-side footballbecame eligible to receive medals of their own.[55][78]

Intellectual Disability– Athletes with a significantintellectual impairmentand associated limitations in adaptive behaviour. The IPC primarily serves athletes with physical disabilities, but the disability group Intellectual Disability has been added to some Paralympic Games. This includes only elite athletes with intellectual disabilities diagnosed before the age of 18.[77]However, theIOC-recognizedSpecial Olympics World Gamesare open to all people with intellectual disabilities.[4]

Classification system

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Main article:Disability sport classification

Within the disability categories, athletes are further divided into Sport Classes according to the degree of activity limitation resulting from their impairments; this aims to minimise the impact of an athlete's impairment on their sporting performance against their rivals. Sport Classes are numbered, with a lower number signifying a greater level of impairment: for example, inParalympic swimmingathletes with visual impairments compete in three Sport Classes from S/SB11 to S/SB13, with S/SB11 athletes having a very low light acuity and/or no light perception, and S/SB13 athletes having the least severe visual impairment eligible for Paralympic sport.[79]

Medical classification (until the 1980s)

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From its inception until the 1980s, the Paralympic system for classifying athletes consisted of a medical evaluation and diagnosis of impairment. An athlete's medical condition was the only factor used to determine what class they competed in. For example, an athlete who had a spinal cord injury that resulted in lower limb paresis, would not compete in the same wheelchair race as an athlete with a double above-knee amputation. The fact that their disability caused the same impairment did not factor into classification determination, the only consideration was their medical diagnosis. It was not until views on disabled athletics shifted from just a form of rehabilitation to an end in itself, that the classification system changed from medical diagnosis to a focus on the functional abilities of the athlete.[80]

Functional classification (since the 1980s)

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Three men wearing eye shades laying on the floor, a red ball is to the left of the image
The Swedish goalball team at the2004 Summer Paralympics

While there is no clear date when the shift occurred, a functional classification system became the norm for disabled athletic classification in the 1980s. In a functional system, the focus is on what effect the athlete's impairment has on his or her athletic performance. Under this system, athletes with total loss of function in their legs will compete together in most sports, because their functional loss is the same and the reason for the loss is immaterial. The only exception to the functional system is the classification format used byInternational Blind Sports Federation(IBSA), which still uses a medically based system.[80]

Some sports are only held for certain disability types. For example,goalballis only for visually impaired athletes. The Paralympics recognizes three different grades of visual impairment, consequently all competitors in goalball must wear a visor or "black out mask" so that athletes with less visual impairment will not have an advantage.[81]Other sports, likeathletics,are open to athletes with a wide variety of impairments. In athletics, participants are broken down into a range of classes based on the disability they have and then they are placed in a classification within that range based on their level of impairment. For example: classes 11–13 are for visually impaired athletes, which class they are in depends on their level of visual impairment.[82] There are also team competitions such aswheelchair rugby.Members of the team are each given a point value based on their activity limitation. A lower score indicates a more severe activity limitation than a higher score. A team cannot have more than a certain maximum total of points on the field of play at the same time to ensure equal competition. For example, in wheelchair rugby, the four players' combined disability number must total no more than eight points.[83]

Sports

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Main article:Paralympic sports

There are twenty-two sports on the Summer Paralympic program and six sports on the Winter Paralympics program. Within some of the sports are several events. For example,alpine skiinghas downhill, super combined, super-G, slalom, giant slalom. The IPC has governance over several of the sports but not all of them. Other international organizations, known as International Sports Federations (IF), notably theInternational Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation(IWAS), theInternational Blind Sports Federation(IBSA), and theCerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association(CP-ISRA), govern some sports that are specific to certain disability groups.[84]There are national chapters for theseInternational Sport FederationsincludingNational Paralympic Committees,which are responsible for recruitment of athletes and governance of sports at the national level.[85]

Alleged cheating

[edit]
Main article:Cheating at the Paralympic Games

After the2000 Sydney games,aSpanishbasketball player alleged that several members of the gold medal-winning Spanish basketball team with intellectual disabilities (ID) did not have disabilities. He claimed that only two athletes out of the twelve-member team met the qualifications of an athlete with an intellectual disability.[86]A controversy ensued and theInternational Paralympic Committee(IPC) called on the Spanish National Paralympic Committee to launch an investigation.[87]The investigation uncovered several Spanish athletes who had flouted the ID rules. In an interview with the president of the federation that oversees ID competition, Fernando Martín Vicente admitted that athletes around the world were breaking the ID eligibility rules. The IPC responded by starting an investigation of its own.[86]The results of the IPC's investigation confirmed the Spanish athlete's allegations and also determined that the incident was not isolated to the basketball ID event or to Spanish athletes.[86]As a result, all ID competitions were suspended indefinitely.[88]The ban was lifted after the 2008 Games after work had been done to tighten the criteria and controls governing admission of athletes with intellectual disabilities. Four sports, swimming, athletics, table tennis and rowing, were anticipated to hold competitions for ID athletes at the2012 Summer Paralympics.[89][90]

The Paralympics have also been tainted by steroid use. At the 2008 Games in Beijing, three powerlifters and a German basketball player were banned after having tested positive for banned substances.[89]This was a decrease in comparison to the ten powerlifters and one track athlete who were banned from the 2000 Games.[91]German skier Thomas Oelsner became the first Winter Paralympian to test positive for steroids. He had won two gold medals at the2002 Winter Paralympics,but his medals were stripped after his positive drug test.[92]At the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver,SwedishcurlerGlenn Ikonentested positive for a banned substance and was suspended for six months[93]by the IPC. He was removed from the rest of the curling competition but his team was allowed to continue. The 54-year-old curler said his doctor had prescribed a medication on the banned substances list.[94][95]

Another concern now facing Paralympic officials is the technique of "boosting".Athletes can artificially increase their blood pressure, often by self-harming, which has been shown to improve performance by up to 15%. This is most effective in the endurance sports such ascross-country skiing.To increase blood pressure athletes will deliberately cause trauma to limbs below a spinal injury. This trauma can include breaking bones, strapping extremities in too tightly, and using high-pressure compression stockings. The injury is painless but it does affect the athlete's blood pressure.[96]

Another potential concern is the use ofgene therapyamong Paralympic athletes. All Paralympic athletes are banned from enhancing their abilities throughgene doping,but it is extremely difficult to differentiate these concepts.[97]The World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA) is currently researching both gene doping and gene therapy, in part to discern the boundary between the two closely related concepts.[98]

The IPC have been working with WADA since 2003, to ensure compliance with WADA's anti-doping code among its Paralympic athletes.[99]The IPC has also promised to continue increasing the number of athletes tested at each of its Games, in order to further minimize the possible effect of doping in Paralympic sports.[99]Mandatory in- and out-of competition testing has also been implemented by the IPC to further ensure all of its athletes are performing in compliance with WADA regulations.[99]

Having sent samples for forensic analysis, the IPC found evidence that theprevalent doping by Russian athleteswas in operation at the2014 Winter Paralympicsin Sochi.[100]On 7 August 2016, the IPC's Governing Board voted unanimously to ban the entire Russian team from the2016 Summer Paralympics,citing theRussian Paralympic Committee's inability to enforce the IPC's Anti-DopingCode and the World Anti-Doping Code which is "a fundamental constitutional requirement".[100]IPC PresidentSir Philip Cravenstated that the Russian government had "catastrophically failed its Para athletes".[101]IPC Athletes' Council Chairperson andCPCMemberTodd Nicholsonsaid that Russia had used athletes as "pawns" in order to "show global prowess".[102]

Notable champions and achievements

[edit]
Further information:Lists of Paralympic medalistsandList of multiple Paralympic gold medalists

Trischa Zornof theUnited Statesis the most decorated paralympian in history. She competed in the blind swimming events and won a total of 55 medals, 41 of which are gold. Her Paralympic career spanned 24 years from1980to2004.She was also an alternate on the 1980 American Olympic swim team, but did not go to theOlympicsdue to aboycottby the United States and several of its allies.[103][104]Ragnhild MyklebustofNorwayholds the record for the most medals ever won at the Winter Paralympic Games. Competing in a variety of events between 1988 and 2002, she won a total of 22 medals, of which 17 were gold. After winning five gold medals at the 2002 Games she retired at the age of 58.[105]Neroli Fairhall,a paraplegic archer from New Zealand, was the first paraplegic competitor, and the third Paralympian, to participate in theOlympic Games,when she competed in the1984 Summer Olympicsin Los Angeles. She placed thirty-fourth in the Olympicarcherycompetition, and won a Paralympic gold medal in the same event.[50]

Host cities

[edit]
Main article:List of Paralympic Games host cities
Year Summer Paralympic Games[106] Winter Paralympic Games[107]
Edition Host(s) Top nation Edition Host(s) Top nation
1960 1 ItalyRome Italy[108]
1964 2 JapanTokyo United States[109]
1968 3 IsraelTel Aviv United States[110]
1972 4 West GermanyHeidelberg West Germany[111]
1976 5 CanadaToronto United States[112] 1 SwedenÖrnsköldsvik West Germany[113]
1980 6 NetherlandsArnhem United States[114] 2 NorwayGeilo Norway[115]
1984 7 United StatesNew York City
United KingdomStoke Mandeville 		United States[116] 3 AustriaInnsbruck Austria[117]
1988 8 South KoreaSeoul United States[118] 4 AustriaInnsbruck Norway[119]
1992 9 SpainBarcelona&Madrid[120] United States[121] 5 FranceTignesandAlbertville United States[122]
1994 6 NorwayLillehammer Norway[123]
1996 10 United StatesAtlanta United States[124]
1998 7 JapanNagano Norway[125]
2000 11 AustraliaSydney Australia[126]
2002 8 United StatesSalt Lake City Germany[127]
2004 12 GreeceAthens China[128]
2006 9 ItalyTurin Russia[129]
2008 13 ChinaBeijing China[130]
2010 10 CanadaVancouver-Whistler Germany[131]
2012 14 United KingdomLondon China[132]
2014 11 RussiaSochi Russia[133]
2016 15 BrazilRio de Janeiro China[134]
2018 12 South KoreaPyeongChang United States[135]
2020 16 JapanTokyo[a] China[136]
2022 13 ChinaBeijing China[137]
2024 17 FranceParis China
2026 14 ItalyMilan-Cortina
2028 18 United StatesLos Angeles
2030 15 FranceNice-French Alps
2032 19 AustraliaBrisbane
2034 16 United StatesSalt Lake City

aPostponed to 2021, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,marking the first time that the Paralympic Games has been postponed. They are still called the 2020 Summer Paralympics, even with the change in scheduling to one year later.[138]The Games were held from 24 August to 5 September 2021.[139]

See also

[edit]

References

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References

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
  • Peterson, Cynthia and Robert D. Steadward.Paralympics: Where Heroes Come,1998, One Shot Holdings,ISBN0-9682092-0-3.
  • Thomas and Smith,Disability, Sport and Society,Routledge, 2008,ISBN978-0-415-37819-2.
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