Ethiopia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Ethiopia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
IPC code	ETH
NPC	Ethiopian Paralympic Committee
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors	5 in 1 sports
Flag bearer	Tamiru Demisse
Medals Ranked 69th	Gold 0 Silver 1 Bronze 0 Total 1
Summer Paralympics appearances
1968 1972 1976 1980 1984–2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020

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

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

Main article: Disability sport classification

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]

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Silver	Tamiru Demisse	Athletics	Men’s 1500 m T12-13	11 September

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

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

Athlete	Events	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Megersa Bati	400 m T12	51.39	4	Did not advance
Tamiru Demisse	400 m T13	Did not start		N/A		Did not advance
	1500 m T12-13	N/A				3:48.49
Astbha Gebremeskel	1500 m T45-46	N/A				4:15.01	9
Hailu Haile		N/A				4:06.37	6

Women's Track

Athlete	Events	Heat		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Yengus Azenaw	200 m T45-47	Disqualified		Did not advance
	400 m T45-47	Disqualified		Did not advance

See also

• Ethiopia at the 2016 Summer Olympics

References

1. "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. 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.