The 1984 International Games for the Disabled, canonically the 1984 Summer Paralympics, were the seventh Paralympic Games to be held. There were two separate competitions: one in Stoke Mandeville, England, United Kingdom for wheelchair athletes with spinal cord injuries and the other at the Mitchel Athletic Complex and Hofstra University on Long Island, New York, United States for wheelchair and ambulatory athletes with cerebral palsy, amputees, and les autres [the others]. Stoke Mandeville had been the location of the Stoke Mandeville Games from 1948 onwards, seen as the precursors to the Paralympic Games, as the 9th International Stoke Mandeville Games in Rome in 1960 are now recognised as the first Summer Paralympics. As with the 1984 Summer Olympics, the Soviet Union and other communist countries except China, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Yugoslavia boycotted the Paralympic Games. The Soviet Union did not participate in the Paralympics at the time, arguing that they have no disabled people in the country. The USSR made its Paralympic debut in 1988, during Perestroika.
Sir Ludwig Guttmann was a German-British neurologist who established the Stoke Mandeville Games, the sporting event for people with disabilities (PWD) that evolved in England into the Paralympic Games. A Jewish doctor who fled Nazi Germany just before the start of the Second World War, Guttmann was a founding father of organized physical activities for people with disabilities.
Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, including leg amputees, spinal cord injuries, and cerebral palsy. Athletes are classified in accordance with the nature and severity of their disability or combinations of disabilities. Like running, it can take place on a track or as a road race. The main competitions take place at the Summer Paralympics which wheelchair racing and athletics has been a part of since 1960. Competitors compete in specialized wheelchairs which allow the athletes to reach speeds of 30 km/h (18.6 mph) or more. It is one of the most prominent forms of Paralympic athletics.
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 every event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that the Olympic Games started in 1904.
T51 is disability sport classification for athletics. The class includes people with a number of different types of disabilities including spinal cord injuries and cerebral palsy. Similar classifications are T52, T53, T54 and T55. It is for sportspeople with minimal upper body function who use a wheelchair, spinal cord injury class F1 and Les Autres class LAF1.
T53 is disability sport classification for disability athletics. The class includes people with a number of different types of disabilities including spinal cord injuries. People in this class have full use of their arms but have no or limited trunk function. Similar classifications are T51, T52, and T54. People in this class have a functional upper limbs, but limited trunk usage and limited lower limb functionality. During classification, they both undergo a bench test of muscle strength and demonstrate their skills in athletics. People in this class include Tanni Grey-Thompson (GBR), Samantha Kinghorn (GBR), Angie Ballard (AUS) and Richard Colman (AUS).
Disability sports classification is a system that allows for fair competition between people with different types of disabilities.
Para-alpine skiing classification is the classification system for para-alpine skiing designed to ensure fair competition between alpine skiers with different types of disabilities. The classifications are grouped into three general disability types: standing, blind and sitting. Classification governance is handled by International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing. Prior to that, several sport governing bodies dealt with classification including the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD), International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMWSF), International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) and Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA). Some classification systems are governed by bodies other than International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing, such as the Special Olympics. The sport is open to all competitors with a visual or physical disability. It is not open to people with intellectual disabilities.
Para-Nordic skiing classification is the classification system for para-Nordic skiing which includes the biathlon and cross-country events. The classifications for Para-Nordic skiing mirrors the classifications for Para-Alpine skiing with some exceptions. A functional mobility and medical classification is in use, with skiers being divided into three groups: standing skiers, sit skiers and visually impaired skiers. International classification is governed by International Paralympic Committee, Nordic Skiing (IPC-NS). Other classification is handled by national bodies. Before the IPC-NS took over classification, a number of organizations handled classification based on the type of disability.
Para-equestrian classification is a system for para-equestrian sport is a graded system based on the degree of physical or visual disability and handled at the international level by the FEI. The sport has eligible classifications for people with physical and vision disabilities. Groups of eligible riders include The sport is open to competitors with impaired muscle power, athetosis, impaired passive range of movement, hypertonia, limb deficiency, ataxia, leg length difference, short stature, and vision impairment. They are grouped into five different classes to allow fair competition. These classes are Grade I, Grade II, Grade III, Grade IV, and Grade V(Grade Names Changed as of Jan 2017). The para-equestrian classification does not consider the gender of the rider, as equestrines compete in mixed gender competitions.
Para-equestrian is an equestrian sport governed by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), and includes two competitive events: One is para-equestrian dressage, which is conducted under the same basic rules as conventional dressage, but with riders divided into different competition grades based on their functional abilities. The other is para-equestrian driving, which operates under the same basic rules as combined driving but places competitors in various grades based on their functional abilities.
Greece sent a delegation to compete at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia from 7–16 March 2014. This was Greece's third appearance at a Winter Paralympic Games. Their only athlete was alpine skier Efthymios Kalaras. He suffered a spinal cord injury two decades before these Paralympics, and was a returning Paralympic silver medalist from the 2004 Summer Paralympics in the discus throw. He finished 22nd in the sitting giant slalom, nearly a minute behind the gold medal time.
Les Autres sport classification is system used in disability sport for people with locomotor disabilities not included in other classification systems for people with physical disabilities. The purpose of this system is to facilitate fair competition between people with different types of disabilities, and to give credibility to disability sports. It was designed and managed by International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD) until the 2005 merger with IWAS, when management switched to that organization. Classification is handled on the national level by relevant sport organizations.
LA1 is a Les Autres sport classification is an wheelchair sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class have severe locomotor issues with all four limbs as a result of loss of muscle strength or spasticity. This also impacts their dominant throwing arm. They also have poor sitting balance.
LA2 is a Les Autres sport classification is an wheelchair sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class have severe locomotor issues with all four limbs as a result of loss of muscle strength or spasticity to a lesser degree than LAF1 or have severe locomotor issues in three of their limbs. They have moderate sitting balance, but good sitting balance while throwing.
LA3 is a Les Autres sport classification is a wheelchair sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class have normal trunk function, good sitting balance, and functional upper limbs. They have limited use of their lower limbs.
LA4 is a Les Autres sport classification is an ambulatory sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class may or may not uses crutches and/or braces on a daily basis. They have some issues with balance and reduced function in their upper limbs.
LA5 is a Les Autres sport classification is an ambulatory sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class have normal upper limb functionality, but have problems with balance or use of their lower limbs. Generally, limb problems are confined to one limb.
LA6 is a Les Autres sport classification is an ambulatory sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class have a minimal locomotor disability that tends to impact one of their upper limbs or knees. The class includes people with arthritis and osteoporosis, or ankylosis of the knee.
Wheelchair sport classification is a system designed to allow fair competition between people of different disabilities, and minimize the impact of a person's specific disability on the outcome of a competition. Wheelchair sports is associated with spinal cord injuries, and includes a number of different types of disabilities including paraplegia, quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, post-polio syndrome and spina bifida. The disability must meet minimal body function impairment requirements. Wheelchair sport and sport for people with spinal cord injuries is often based on the location of lesions on the spinal cord and their association with physical disability and functionality.
