The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, are held almost immediately following the respective Olympic Games. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 80 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another.
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.
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.
The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Winter Paralympic Games are held every four years directly following the Winter Olympic Games and hosted in the same city. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) oversees the Games. Medals are awarded in each event: with gold for first place, silver for second, and bronze for third, following the tradition that the Olympic Games began in 1904.
The World Para Athletics Championships, known as the IPC Athletics World Championships prior to 2017, are a biennial Paralympic athletics event organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It features athletics events contested by athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities. The first IPC Athletics World Championships were held in Berlin, Germany in 1994.
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.
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.
The Men's 1500m athletics events for the 2012 Summer Paralympics took place at the London Olympic Stadium from 31 August to 4 September. A total of six events were contested over this distance for six different classifications.
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. 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. Five throwing events were staged for class F40, athletes with dwarfism.
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.
Intellectual disability sport classification is a classification system used for disability sport that allows people with intellectual disabilities to fairly compete with and against other people with intellectual disabilities. Separate classification systems exist for the elite athlete with a disability side affiliated with the Paralympic movement and Virtus, and the sports for all model affiliated with Special Olympics. People with intellectual disabilities have issues with conceptual skills, social skills and practical skills. They have IQs of 75 points or lower, limitations in adaptive behaviour and their disability manifested and was documented prior to turning 18 years of age.
The 2017 World Para Athletics Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held at London Stadium in London from 14 to 23 July 2017. It was the 8th edition of the event, the first to be held after being renamed from IPC Athletics World Championship, and featured 213 medal events.
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.
