Para-athletics is the sport of athletics practised by people with a disability as a parasport. The athletics events within the parasport are mostly the same as those available to able-bodied people, with two major exceptions in wheelchair racing and the club throw, which are specific to the division. The sport is known by various names, including disability athletics, disabled track and field and Paralympic athletics. Top-level competitors may be called elite athletes with disability.
Athletics at the 2008 Summer Paralympics were held in Beijing National Stadium from September 8 to September 17. There were 160 gold medals in this sport.
The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Paralympic Games are held every four years, organized by the International Paralympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that the Olympic Games started in 1904.
Athletics events at the 2012 Summer Paralympics were held in the Olympic Stadium and in The Mall in London, United Kingdom, from 31 August to 9 September 2012.
T40 is disability sport classification for disability athletics, specifically athletes of short stature. Male athletes under 130 cm and female athletes under 125 cm can compete in this category.
T43 is a disability sport classification for disability athletics, applying to athletes with "Double below knee amputation or similar disability." It includes ISOD classified athletes from the A4 and A9 classes.
T46 and F46 are disability sport classification for disability athletics. People in this class have a single below or above the elbow amputation. The amputee sports equivalent class is ISOD the A6 and A8 classes. People in this class can have injuries as a result of over use of their remaining upper limb. The classification process to be included in this class has four parts: a medical exam, observation during training, observation during competition and then being classified into this class.
Malawi were scheduled to make its Paralympic Games début at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012. On 29 August the team was withdrawn from the games due to lack of funding.
Trinidad and Tobago competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9. The country returned to the Paralympic Games after a 24-year absence, having last competed in 1988 and then missed five consecutive editions of the Summer Games.
Cameroon made its Paralympic Games debut at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9.
Para-athletics classification is a system to determine which athletes with disabilities may compete against each other in para-athletics events. Classification is intended to group together athletes with similar levels of physical ability to allow fair competition. Classification was created and is managed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), which is regularly published via its IPC Athletics Classification Handbook. People with physical, vision and intellectual disabilities are eligible to compete in this sport at the Summer Paralympics. The classification for this sport was created during the 1940s and for much of its early history was a medical condition based classification system. The classification system has subsequently become a functional mobility based one, and is moving towards an evidence-based classification system.
Athletics events at the 2012 Summer Paralympics were held in the Olympic Stadium and in The Mall in London, United Kingdom, from 31 August to 9 September 2012.
Athletics events at the 2012 Summer Paralympics were held in the Olympic Stadium and in The Mall in London, United Kingdom, from 31 August to 9 September 2012. A restricted number of events were held in the stadium for athletes with intellectual impairment.
Athletics events at the 2012 Summer Paralympics were held in the Olympic Stadium and in The Mall in London, United Kingdom, from 31 August to 9 September 2012. 42 events were staged for athletes with cerebral palsy, and 3 jointly with athletes with spinal cord damage.
Athletics events at the 2012 Summer Paralympics were held in the Olympic Stadium and in The Mall in London, United Kingdom, from 31 August to 9 September 2012. 31 events were staged for amputee athletes.
Athletics events at the 2012 Summer Paralympics were held in the Olympic Stadium and in The Mall in London, United Kingdom, from 31 August to 9 September 2012. 43 events were staged for athletes with spinal cord disabilities, and 3 staged jointly with cerebral palsy classes.
The 2012 IPC Athletics European Championships was a track and field competition for athletes with a disability open to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) affiliated countries within Europe. It was held in Stadskanaal, Netherlands and lasted from 23 to 28 June. The event was held in the Stadskanaal Stadium and was the last major European disability athletics event before the forthcoming 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. Approximately 550 athletes from 38 countries attended the games. Several countries used the Championships to finalise the remaining places for the Paralympics.
Athletics events at the 2016 Summer Paralympics were held in the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from September 2016. 177 events were held across both genders where 1,100 athletes competed. The athletics programme was the largest element of the Games programme in terms of entrants and medals awarded.
Athletics at the 2020 Summer Paralympics were held in the National Stadium in Tokyo. There was 167 medal events: 93 for men, 73 for women and one mixed event. It was the largest contest of the Games programme regarding athlete numbers and medal events to be scheduled.
Athletics at the 2024 Summer Paralympics will be held at Stade de France in Paris. There will be 164 events: 90 for men, 73 for women and one mixed event, three fewer men's events than the previous Games while the women's and mixed events remain the same. It will be the largest contest of the Games programme regarding athlete numbers and medal events to be scheduled.
