The Paralympics is a major international multi-sport event involving athletes with a range of disabilities, including impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment and intellectual impairment. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Games 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 1976 Summer Paralympics, branded as Torontolympiad - 1976 Olympiad for the Physically Disabled, was the fifth Paralympic Games to be held. They were hosted by Toronto, Canada, from August 4 to 12, 1976, marking the first time a Paralympics was held in Canada. The games began three days after the close of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Ecuador competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's tenth consecutive appearance at the Olympics, although it had first competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The 2016 Summer Paralympics, the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016. The Games marked the first time a Latin American and South American city hosted the event, the second Southern Hemisphere city and nation, the first one being the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, and also the first time a Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country hosted the event. These Games saw the introduction of two new sports to the Paralympic program: canoeing and the paratriathlon.
Ecuador sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The delegation consisted of two competitors, both powerlifters.
Zambia made its Paralympic Games début at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, United States. The country's delegation consisted in a single competitor, wheelchair athlete Lango Sinkamba.
Ecuador made its Paralympic Games début at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto, with a small delegation of three competitors in track and field and swimming. The country has participated in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics, except 1980 and 1988, but has never entered the Winter Paralympics. Ecuador's delegations have always been small, and no Ecuadorian has ever won a Paralympic medal.
Ecuador competed at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. The team included four athletes, three men and one woman, but won no medals.
Tonga participated in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9, 2012. Their participation marked their fourth consecutive Summer Paralympics appearance since their début at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney. Tonga was represented by the Tonga National Paralympic Committee, and was one of the 45 participating countries that sent only a single athlete. Tonga has always sent only a single athlete from Sydney 2000 to London 2012. Tonga National Paralympic Committee sent a delegation of three people, including one athlete. The sole athlete to represent the nation was ʻAloʻalo Liku, who participated in javelin and discus throw. Liku was the country's flag-bearer during the Games' opening ceremony. Tonga did not win a medal at these Games, however Liku finished with seasonal bests in both the events.
Ecuador sent a delegation to compete at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its athletes failed in winning any medal and finished last along 7 other countries.
Swimming at the 2012 Paralympic Games was held from 30 August to 8 September 2012 at the London Aquatics Centre in London, UK. The competition consisted of 148 events, across multiple classifications, and all swum in a long course (50m) pool. Up to 600 swimmers swum in the Games.
The Palestinian Territories competed as Palestine at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9.
The Faroe Islands sent a delegation to compete in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012. This was the nation's eighth time competing in a Summer Paralympic Games. The Faroese delegation consisted of one swimmer, Ragnvaldur Jensen. In his only event, the men's 100 meter breaststroke SB14 he finished seventh in his heat and failed to qualify for the finals.
Greece competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9, 2012. The Hellenic Paralympic Committee sent a total of 61 athletes, 47 men and 14 women, to compete in 9 sports. Greece finished 44th in the medal table, winning one gold medal and 12 in total.
Two male athletes from Ecuador competed at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, United States.
Ecuador competed at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain. 3 competitors from Ecuador won no medals and so did not place in the medal table.
Ecuador competed at the 1984 Summer Paralympics in Stoke Mandeville, Great Britain and New York City, United States. 2 competitors from Ecuador won no medals and so did not place in the medal table.
Nicaragua sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. This was the Central American country's third appearance at a Summer Paralympic Games, having made its debut twelve years earlier at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. They were represented by three athletes, sprinters Jennifer Osejo and Gabriel Cuadra Holmann and powerlifter Fernando Acevedo, who all qualified for the games by achieving the minimum qualifying standard in international competition. Neither Holmann or Osejo claimed a medal in their respective events and Acevado finished fifth in the men's –72kg powerlifting class.
Ecuador competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016. The team consisted of five athletes, four men, one woman, and one male sighted guide.
