What is the Paralympics?
The Paralympics are the major international multi-sport games for athletes with physical, visual or intellectual impairments. They are held right after the Olympic Games, in the same host city.
The Paralympic movement began in 1948, when Dr. Ludwig Guttmann organized a sports competition for injured World War II veterans at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. The first official Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960, with about 400 athletes from 23 countries. The first Winter Paralympics took place in Sweden in 1976.
Today, thousands of athletes from more than 160 countries take part in sports such as wheelchair basketball, para swimming, para athletics, boccia, goalball and sitting volleyball. Athletes are grouped into classes based on their impairment to make competition fair.
The name
The word Paralympic combines the Greek para, meaning beside or alongside, with Olympic, showing that the two Games are held side by side. Since 2001, Olympic host cities have been required to host the Paralympics too. The Paris 2024 Paralympics featured 22 sports.
Did You Know?
Goalball, a team sport for visually impaired athletes played with a ball containing bells, was created specifically for athletes with visual impairments and has no Olympic equivalent.