The Paralympic Games or Paralympics are a periodic series of international multi-sport events 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 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).
Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius is a South African former professional sprinter who was convicted of murder in 2015. He was born missing the outside of both feet and both fibulae. Both of his feet were amputated when he was 11 months old due to a congenital defect. Pistorius ran in both non-disabled sprint events and in sprint events for below-knee amputees. He was the tenth athlete to compete at both the Paralympic Games and Olympic Games.
T43 is a disability sport classification for disability athletics, applying to athletes with "Double below knee amputation or similar disability." It includes ISOD classified athletes from the A4 and A9 classes.
Malta sent a delegation to compete at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012. This was the country's eighth appearance in a Summer Paralympic Games. The Maltese delegation consisted of a single short-distance swimmer: Matthew Sultana. In his three events, the men's 50 metres freestyle S10, the men's 100 metre butterfly S10 and the men's 100 metre breaststroke SB9, he failed to qualify beyond the first round.
Macau sent a delegation to participate in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012. This was the seventh appearance at a Summer Paralympic Games for the territory since its debut at the 1988 Summer Paralympics. A high jumper and a wheelchair fencer were chosen to represent Macau in London after the nation qualified one athlete by merit and the other by invitation. Wheelchair fencer In I Lao was nominated to be the territory's flag bearer for the opening ceremony. At the Paralympics, Lao came ninth in the group rounds of both the women's individual foil A and the women's individual épée A tournaments while high jumper Hio Sam Tong also finished in ninth in the men's long jump F20 event.
Uganda sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the eighth appearance of the country in the Summer Paralympic Games after it debuted forty-four years prior at the 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics. Athletics track runner David Emong was the sole athlete representing Uganda in Rio de Janeiro. He took part in the men's 400 metres T45–47 competition on 8 September and did not qualify for the finals because he was fifteenth overall. Emong participated in the men's 1500 metres T45–46 event later that day and he took Uganda's first medal in Paralympic competition by coming second in the final.
Lesotho sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the fifth time the country competed in the Summer Paralympic Games after it made its debut sixteen years prior at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. The delegation to Rio de Janeiro consisted of two athletes: sprinter Sello Mothebe and discus thrower Litsitso Khotele. Mothebe originally came third in the heats of the men's 200 metres T12 and the men's 400 metres T12 events but he was retroactively disqualified for testing positive for a banned substance. Khotele ranked tenth in the women's discus throw F43–44 competition with a throw of 19.91 metres.
The Gambia sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. This was the nation's second appearance at a Paralympics, following their first participation in the 2012 London Paralympics. The Gambia sent one athlete, Demba Jarju, who failed to advance from his heat in the men's 100 meters T54 event.
Gabon sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. This was the nation's third appearance at a Summer Paralympic Games, following their two previous participations at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Gabon sent a sole athlete to represent them at Rio de Janeiro, wheelchair racer Edmond Ngombi. He did not advance from his heat in the men's 100 metres T54 event as he came sixth out of seven competitors and attributed the result to a handlebar problem.
Botswana sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the country's second time competing at a Summer Paralympic Games after making its debut at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. Botswana was represented by one athlete, Keatlaretese Mabote, a short-distance sprinter. He competed in one event, the men's 400 metres T12 competition, where he was eliminated in the heat stages because he was third in his heat and only the top two participants in a heat progressed to the semi-finals.
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 the Summer Paralympic Games, having made its debut twelve years earlier at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. They were represented by three athletes, sprinter Jennifer Osejo, middle-distance runner and sprinter 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.
Guatemala sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. This was the nation's seventh time competing in the Summer Paralympic Games since it made its debut forty years prior in Toronto, Canada. Middle-distance runner Óscar Raxón Siquiej was the only athlete that Guatemala sent to Rio de Janeiro after he was awarded a wild card spot by the International Paralympic Committee. He was third and last in his heat in the men's 1500 metres T11 and failed to advance to the final since only the top six were allowed in that stage of the competition.
Haiti sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 7 to 18 September 2016. The country's participation in Rio marked its third appearance at the quadrennial event and its delegation consisted of one shot put thrower Jean Indris Santerre, who qualified for the games by being issued a wild card from the International Paralympic Committee after being unable to qualify on merit. He was chosen as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. Santerre did not start the final of the men's F57 shot put competition held at the Maracanã Stadium on 17 September for unknown reasons.
Tajikistan sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. This was the fourth consecutive appearance of the country at the Paralympic Games after it made its debut twelve years prior at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. Tajikistan was represented by a single athlete in Rio de Janeiro: sprinter Romikhudo Dodikhudoev. He finished 14th overall in both of the men's 400 metres T47 and the men's 100 metres T47 and these performances meant he did not qualify for the final of both competitions.
Pakistan competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 7 to 18 September 2016. The country's participation in Rio marked its seventh appearance in the quadrennial event. The delegation consisted of the long jump competitor Haider Ali who qualified for the Games by meeting the required standards for the men's long jump T37 in a March 2016 event held in Dubai. On 13 September, he won Pakistan's second Paralympic medal with a mark of 6.28 metres in his event, placing him third.
Nepal sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. This was the fourth time the nation had taken part in a Paralympic Games following its first appearance at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. Nepal was represented by two athletes in Rio de Janeiro: sprinter Bikram Rana and short-distance swimmer Laxmi Kunwar, who both qualified for the Paralympics by using wild card spots for their respective sports. Neither athlete advanced beyond the first round of their respective events as they both finished 17th overall in their competitions.
Malta competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 7 to 18 September 2016. The country's participation in Rio marked its ninth appearance at the quadrennial event with the exception of the years between 1988 and 2004. The delegation consisted of one short distance swimmer, Vladyslava Kravchenko, who was announced as the country's representative in April 2016. She was chosen as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. Kravchenko competed in three swimming events but failed to advance into the final of each event as her times in her respective competitions were not fast enough to qualify for the later stages of each contest.
Moldova sent a delegation to participate at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the Eastern European's country sixth appearance in the Summer Paralympic Games since their debut twenty years prior at the 1996 Summer Paralympics. Moldova sent three athletes to these Games, shot put thrower Oxana Spataur, powerlifter Larisa Marinenkova and short-distance swimmer Alexandr Covaliov. Spataur qualified on merit and Covaliov and Marienkova were invited by the Bipartite Commission. Neither Spataur or Covaliov advanced out of the heats of their events and Marienkova finished seventh in the women's 73kg powerlifting category.
Cyprus sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the island country's eighth consecutive appearance in a Summer Paralympiad having made its debut at the 1988 Summer Paralympics. The Cypriot delegation to Rio de Janeiro consisted of two athletes: sprinter Antonis Aresti and short-distance swimmer Karolina Pelendritou. Aresti placed sixth overall in the men's 400 metres T47 event and Pelendritou came fourth in the 100 metres breaststroke SB13 competition after losing the bronze medal by 20 cm (7.9 in) in the final.
Suriname sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, held from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was its fourth appearance at a Summer Paralympic Games since it debuted at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. Suriname was represented by one athlete, sprinter and long jumper Biondi Misasi, who was making his third appearance in the Paralympics. He took part in two athletics event and his best performance at these Paralympics was seventh overall in the men's 100 metres T12 event. Misasi did not progress to the final since only the top four in all heats advanced to that stage.
