Powerlifting at the 2004 Summer Paralympics did not have disability categories. There was a requirement for a minimum level of physical disability, which may have been caused by amputation, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries or various other specified conditions. The only classification was by body weight. The event was staged in the Nikaia Olympic Weightlifting Hall.
Paralympic powerlifting has been competed at every Summer Paralympics since 1984. Weightlifting had been on the Paralympic program since 1964, however after the 1992 Games the IPC decided to drop weightlifting and hold powerlifting events only. Women first competed in the sport at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics.
Uganda sent a delegation to compete at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, United States. The country thus made its return to the Summer Paralympic Games after a twenty-year absence. It entered only one athlete, who competed in powerlifting. He did not win a medal.
Kyrgyzstan made its Paralympic Games début at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, and has competed in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since then - albeit with delegations consisting in no more than three athletes. Kyrgyzstan made its début at the Winter Paralympics in 2014 in Sochi.
Libya made its Paralympic Games début as the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, sending four representatives to compete in powerlifting. The country has competed at every edition of the Summer Paralympics since then, but has never taken part in the Winter Paralympics. Libyan delegations have always been fairly small: three judokas, two powerlifters and a volleyball team in 2000; two powerlifters in 2004; a powerlifter and two table tennis players in 2008.
Libya made its Paralympic Games début at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta. They were represented by four powerlifters, none of whom won a medal.
Niger made its Paralympic Games début at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens. It was represented by a single athlete, male sprinter Zoubeirou Issaka, who competed in the 100m race, in the T12 category for the nearly blind. His time of 13.90 was the slowest overall in the heats, ending his participation in the Games.
Guatemala have been irregular participants in the Paralympic Games. The country made its début at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto, with a delegation of eleven athletes to compete in archery, dartchery, swimming, table tennis and weightlifting. It was then absent in 1980, and returned in 1984, with a delegation of two swimmers and two weightlifters. It sent a single weightlifter to the 1988 Games, then was absent for sixteen years, before returning for the 2004 Paralympics, represented by two runners. Visually impaired 5,000m runner César López was the sole Guatemalan competitor in 2008. Guatemala has never taken part in the Winter Paralympics.
Laos made its Paralympic Games début at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, sending just two representatives to compete in powerlifting. They ranked poorly, and the country did not participate in the next edition of the Games in 2004. Laos made its return to the Paralympics in 2008, with powerlifter Eay Simay as its sole competitor. Simay -greatly improving on his performance from 2000- won the country's first Paralympic medal, a bronze, by lifting 157.5 kg in the men's up to 48 kg category.
The Philippines made its Paralympic Games debut at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul and has been fielding athletes up to the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. Its athletes has won two bronze medals; Adeline Dumapong in powerlifting (2000), and Josephine Medina in table tennis (2016). The country has never won a Paralympic gold medal.
East Timor first sent competitors to the Paralympic Games for the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney. The country at that time was not yet recognised as a sovereign state, and its athletes participated as "Individual Paralympic Athletes". There were only two: Alcino Pereira in track & field, in the men's 5,000m race ; and Mateus Lukas in men's powerlifting, in the up to 48 kg category. Pereira failed to complete his race, while Lukas lifted 105 kg, finishing 13th and last of the athletes who successfully lifted a weight in his category.
In 2000, East Timor was administered by the United Nations, and did not have a recognised National Paralympic Committee. Two East Timor athletes to take part in the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, but they competed officially as Individual Paralympic Athletes, rather than as representatives of an NPC.
Armenia made its Paralympic Games début at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, with just two entries: Gagik Gasparian in powerlifting, and a four-person team in the mixed crewboat event in sailing. Two years later, Armenia made its Winter Paralympics début, with eight competitors in alpine skiing. The country has participated in every subsequent event of both the Summer and Winter Paralympics, although its delegations have generally been small.
The Central African Republic made its Paralympic Games debut by sending a delegation to compete at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece, having made its Olympic debut in 1968. The delegation consisted in a single athlete, Thibaut Bomaya, who competed in the powerlifting. He did not win a medal, finishing in 11th place in the single round for the men's 56kg.
Syria competed at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. The team included 5 athletes, 3 men and 2 women, but won no medals.
The Independent Paralympic Athletes Team, a team consisting of refugee and asylee Paralympic athletes, competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016. Its creation was announced on 5 August 2016.
Man Asaad is a Syrian heavyweight weightlifter who competes in the +109 kg category.
Honduras sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. This was the nation's sixth appearance at a Summer Paralympiad after it debuted at the 1996 Summer Paralympics. The Honduran delegation to Rio de Janeiro consisted of two athletes: powerlifter Gabriel Zelaya Díaz and short-distance swimmer Emmanuel Díaz. Both competitors were not ranked in their respective competitions after Gabriel Zelaya Díaz was unable to lift any weights in his three tries and Emmanuel Díaz was two minutes late arriving to his event.
El Salvador sent a delegation to compete in the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the country's fifth successive appearance in the Summer Paralympics since debuting at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. The Salvadoran delegation to Rio consisted of one athlete, powerlifter Herbert Aceituno, who qualified for the Games through his world ranking of 13th and his participation was confirmed by the International Paralympic Committee in August 2016. He failed to lift 185 kilograms (408 lb) in three attempts during the men's 72 kg tournament and was therefore not ranked in the final standings by the judges.
Kazakhstan will be competing at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021.
