Ethiopia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

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Ethiopia at the
2016 Summer Paralympics
Flag of Ethiopia.svg
IPC code ETH
NPC Ethiopian Paralympic Committee
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors5 in 1 sports
Flag bearer Tamiru Demisse
Medals
Ranked 69th
Gold
0
Silver
1
Bronze
0
Total
1
Summer Paralympics appearances (overview)

Ethiopia competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016.

Contents

Background

Ethiopian Paralympians had difficulty getting internal funding for their Paralympic efforts. Their national federation provided no money for equipment, and in the lead up to the Rio Games, most trained barefoot. [1]

Disability classifications

Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories; amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis. [2] [3] Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Some sports, such as athletics, divide athletes by both the category and severity of their disabilities, other sports, for example swimming, group competitors from different categories together, the only separation being based on the severity of the disability. [4]

Medallists

Ethiopia finished tied for ninth among African countries for total gold medals, winning one silver. Uganda and the Ivory Coast also won a single silver medal. [5]

MedalNameSportEventDate
Silver medal icon.svg Silver Tamiru Demisse Athletics Men's 1500 m T12-13 11 September

Athletics

One of the members of the Ethiopian delegation was Tamiru Demisse, who won silver in the 1,500 meters. [1] Demisse hoped that following the Rio Games, one day he could represent the United States or Canada at the Paralympics. [1]

Men's Track
AthleteEventsHeatSemifinalFinal
TimeRankTimeRankTimeRank
Megersa Bati 400 m T12 51.394did not advance
Tamiru Demisse 400 m T13 did not startdid not advance
1500 m T12-13 3:48.49Silver medal icon.svg
Astbha Gebremeskel 1500 m T45-46 4:15.019
Hailu Haile 4:06.376
Women's Track
AthleteEventsHeatFinal
TimeRankTimeRank
Yengus Azenaw 200 m T45-47 Disqualifieddid not advance
400 m T45-47 Disqualifieddid not advance

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Rio Paralympics: podcast — The rise of the Paralympics in Africa". 2016-09-14. Archived from the original on 2016-10-25. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  2. "Paralympics categories explained". ABC. 3 September 2008. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  3. "Making sense of the categories". BBC Sport. 6 October 2000. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  4. "A-Z of Paralympic classification". BBC Sport. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  5. "Nigeria are Africa's best at Paralympics | KweséSports.com". Kwese Sports. 2016-09-19. Archived from the original on 2016-10-26. Retrieved 2016-10-26.