Marathon events have been held at the Summer Paralympic Games , for both men and women, since the 1984 Summer Paralympics in Stoke Mandeville and New York City. [1] [2] They are held as part of the Paralympic athletics programme.
Since the 1996 Games in Atlanta, marathon events, along with all other track events, have been categorised as follows: [3] [4] [5]
Heinrich Koeberle of Germany, active from 1984 to 2000, is the most successful Paralympic marathon competitor to date, having won four gold medals and one silver. Among the women, Connie Hansen of Denmark and Jean Driscoll of the United States have each won two Paralympic marathons. [6] [7]
At the 1984 Games in Stoke Mandeville and New York, seven marathons were held for men, and four for women, all for wheelchair athletes. In the men's event 1A, only three runners started the race: Heinrich Koeberle from West Germany, his compatriot H. Lobbering (full name not recorded), and Rainer Kueschall of Switzerland. Only Koeberle reached the finish line. [10] In women's event 5, there were only two competitors, both from Mexico. Both reached the finish line. [11]
Men's events
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon 1A | Heinrich Koeberle ![]() | ||
Marathon 1B | J. Matsson ![]() | Peter Schmid ![]() | Ronan Rooney ![]() |
Marathon 1C | Alan Dufty ![]() | D. Wallen ![]() | Eduardo Monsalvo ![]() |
Marathon 2 | Heinz Frei ![]() | Paul Clark ![]() | Graham Condon ![]() |
Marathon 3 | André Viger ![]() | Gregor Golombek ![]() | R. Sampson ![]() |
Marathon 4 | Rick Hansen ![]() | Jean Francois Poitevin ![]() | R. Minor ![]() |
Marathon 5 | Mel Fitzgerald ![]() | B. Hedrick ![]() | Tom Foran ![]() |
Women's events
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon 2 | J. Schiff ![]() | Patricia Hill ![]() | Dora Garcia ![]() |
Marathon 3 | G. Beyer ![]() | Julie Russell ![]() | D. Smith ![]() |
Marathon 4 | J. Randles ![]() | Kay McShane ![]() | S. Norman ![]() |
Marathon 5 | Juana Soto ![]() | E. Belmont ![]() |
The number of events at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul was expanded to eleven for men, but restricted to three for women (with category 5 being closed).
Men's events
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon 1A | Heinrich Koeberle ![]() | Rainer Kueschall ![]() | Bart Dodson ![]() |
Marathon 1B | Serge Raymond ![]() | Jan-Owe Mattsson ![]() | Clayton Gerein ![]() |
Marathon 1C | John Brewer ![]() | Alan Dufty ![]() | Johann Kastner ![]() |
Marathon 2 | Marc Quessy ![]() | Paul Clark ![]() | Michael Trujillo ![]() |
Marathon 3 | André Viger ![]() | Urs Scheidegger ![]() | Phil Carpenter ![]() |
Marathon 4 | Jean Francois Poitevin ![]() | Farid Amarouche ![]() | Rafael Ibarra ![]() |
Marathon 5-6 | Jonathon Puffenberger ![]() | Tom Foran ![]() | Georg Schrattenecker ![]() |
Marathon A1–3/A9/L1–2 | Mustapha Badid ![]() | Philippe Couprie ![]() | Ted Vince ![]() |
Marathon B1 | Joerund Gaasemyr ![]() | David Jakubovich ![]() | Carlos Roberto Sestrem ![]() |
Marathon B2 | Stephen Brunt ![]() | Paul Collet ![]() | David Mills ![]() |
Marathon B3 | Carlos Talbott ![]() | Mark Farnell ![]() | Wieslaw Miech ![]() |
Women's events
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon 2 | Tami Oothoudt ![]() | Ann Walters ![]() | Patricia Hill ![]() |
Marathon 3 | Candace Cable-Brooks ![]() | Sherry Ann Ramsey ![]() | Itsuko Maeda ![]() |
Marathon 4 | Connie Hansen ![]() | Tracy Miller ![]() | Kay McShane ![]() |
At the 1992 Games in Barcelona, the number of events for men was cut to six: three for wheelchair athletes, and three for visually impaired athletes. The number of events for women was further reduced, down to one, for wheelchair athletes.
Men's events
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon B1 | Carlo Durante ![]() | Tofiri Kibuuka ![]() | Steve Brooks ![]() |
Marathon B2 | Stephen Brunt ![]() | José Ortiz ![]() | Paul Collet ![]() |
Marathon B3 | Mark Farnell ![]() | Anton Sluka ![]() | Timo Pulkkinen ![]() |
Marathon TW1 | Heinrich Koeberle ![]() | Rainer Kueschall ![]() | Giuseppe Forni ![]() |
Marathon TW2 | Clayton Gerein ![]() | Christoph Etzlstorfer ![]() | Greg Smith ![]() |
Marathon TW3–4 | Heinz Frei ![]() | Claude Issorat ![]() | Jeddie Schabort ![]() |
Women's event
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon TW3–4 | Connie Hansen ![]() | Jennette Jansen ![]() | Lily Anggreny ![]() |
At the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, the current categorisation system was introduced. Seven events were held for men, and one for women.
Men's events
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon T10 | Harumi Yanagawa ![]() | Carlo Durante ![]() | Nicolas Ledezma ![]() |
Marathon T11 | Waldemar Kikolski ![]() | Tomasz Chmurzynski ![]() | Francisco Perez ![]() |
Marathon T12 | Anton Sluka ![]() | Mark Farnell ![]() | J. Onofre da Costa ![]() |
Marathon T42–46 | Javier Conde ![]() | Joseba Larrinaga ![]() | Mark Brown ![]() |
Marathon T50 | Heinrich Koeberle ![]() | Bart Dodson ![]() | Tim Johansson ![]() |
Marathon T51 | Brent McMahon ![]() | Clayton Gerein ![]() | Patrick Cottini ![]() |
Marathon T52–53 | Franz Nietlispach ![]() | Kazuya Murozuka ![]() | Heinz Frei ![]() |
Women's event
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon T52–53 | Jean Driscoll ![]() | Kazu Hatanaka ![]() | Deanna Sodoma ![]() |
The same number of events (seven for men, one for women) were maintained at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney.
Men's events
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon T11 | Carlos Amaral Ferreira ![]() | Robert Matthews ![]() | Carlo Durante ![]() |
Marathon T12 | Waldemar Kikolski ![]() | Stephen Brunt ![]() | Moises Beristain ![]() |
Marathon T13 | Ildar Pomykalov ![]() | Anton Sluka ![]() | Roy Daniell ![]() |
Marathon T46 | Javier Conde ![]() | Mark Brown ![]() | Michael Keohane ![]() |
Marathon T51 | Alvise de Vidi ![]() | Heinrich Koeberle ![]() | Thorsten Oppold ![]() |
Marathon T52 | Clayton Gerein ![]() | Christoph Etzlstorfer ![]() | Thomas Geierspichler ![]() |
Marathon T54 | Franz Nietlispach ![]() | Krige Schabort ![]() | Heinz Frei ![]() |
Women's event
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon T54 | Jean Driscoll ![]() | Kazu Hatanaka ![]() | Wakako Tsuchida ![]() |
At the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, the number of events for men was reduced to five (one for totally blind athletes, one for visually impaired athletes, and three for wheelchair athletes), while a single wheelchair event was maintained for women.
Men's events
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon T11 | Yuichi Takahashi ![]() | Carlos Ferreira ![]() | Andrea Cionna ![]() |
Marathon T13 | Ildar Pomykalov ![]() | Roy Daniell ![]() | Linas Balsys ![]() |
Marathon T51 | Alvise De Vidi ![]() | Stefan Strobel ![]() | Edgar Navarro ![]() |
Marathon T52 | Toshihiro Takada ![]() | Thomas Geierspichler ![]() | Clayton Gerein ![]() |
Marathon T54 | Kurt Fearnley ![]() | Kelly Smith ![]() | Tomasz Hamerlak ![]() |
Women's event
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon T54 | Kazu Hatanaka ![]() | Wakako Tsuchida ![]() | Cheri Blauwet ![]() |
At the 2008 Games in Beijing, the number of events for men was again reduced, down to four (one for visually impaired athletes, one for upper limb amputees, two for wheelchair athletes), while a single women's wheelchair event was maintained.
Men's events
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon T12 | Qi Shun ![]() | Elkin Serna ![]() | Ildar Pomykalov ![]() |
Marathon T46 | Mario Santillan ![]() | Tito Sena ![]() | Walter Endrizzi ![]() |
Marathon T52 | Thomas Geierspichler ![]() | Hirokazu Ueyonabaru ![]() | Toshihiro Takada ![]() |
Marathon T54 | Kurt Fearnley ![]() | Hiroki Sasahara ![]() | Ernst van Dyk ![]() |
Women's event
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon T54 | Edith Hunkeler ![]() | Amanda McGrory ![]() | Sandra Graf ![]() |
At the 2012 Games in London, the number of events for men was once more reduced, down to three (one for visually impaired athletes, one for upper limb amputees, one for wheelchair athletes), while a single women's wheelchair event was maintained.
Men's events
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon T12 | Alberto Suarez Laso ![]() | Elkin Serna ![]() | Abderrahim Zhiou ![]() |
Marathon T46 | Tito Sena ![]() | Abderrahman Khamouch ![]() | Frederic Van den Heede ![]() |
Marathon T54 | David Weir ![]() | Marcel Hug ![]() | Kurt Fearnley ![]() |
Women's event
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Marathon T54 | Shirley Reilly ![]() | Shelly Woods ![]() | Sandra Graf ![]() |
In Rio de Janeiro, Three men's marathons and two women's marathons were contested on 18 September 2016.
The 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the marathon events held on 5 September 2021. The men's marathon was held in the T12, T46, and T54 classifications, and the women's marathon in T12 and T54.
Four marathon events, T12 and T54 for both men and women, were contested on 8 September 2024 in Paris.
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 9 | 8 | 10 | 27 |
2 | ![]() | 9 | 4 | 6 | 19 |
3 | ![]() | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
4 | ![]() | 5 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
5 | ![]() | 4 | 6 | 3 | 13 |
6 | ![]() | 4 | 6 | 2 | 12 |
7 | ![]() | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
8 | ![]() | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
9 | ![]() | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
10 | ![]() | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
11 | ![]() | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
12 | ![]() | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
13 | ![]() | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
14 | ![]() | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
15 | ![]() | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
16 | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
![]() | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
![]() | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
19 | ![]() | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
![]() | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
21 | ![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
22 | ![]() | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
23 | ![]() | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
24 | ![]() | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
26 | ![]() | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
![]() | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
29 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
![]() | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Totals (32 entries) | 63 | 66 | 61 | 190 |
The 1984 International Games for the Disabled, commonly known as 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.
The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 80 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another.
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 Men's Marathon T12 was held on September 17 at 7:30.
The Men's marathon T11 was a marathon event in athletics at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, for totally blind athletes. Defending champion and world record holder Carlos Amaral Ferreira of Portugal took part, along with sixteen other athletes, from a total of ten countries. No athlete had ever successfully defended his title in the men's fully blind marathon, and Ferreira failed to become the first; he took silver, finishing half a minute behind Japan's Yuichi Takahashi.
The men's marathon at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships was held in the streets of Christchurch, New Zealand on 30 January.
Para-athletics classification is a system to determine which athletes with disabilities may compete against each other in para-athletics events. Classification is intended to group together athletes with similar levels of physical ability to allow fair competition. Classification was created and is managed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), which is regularly published via its IPC Athletics Classification Handbook. People with physical, vision and intellectual disabilities are eligible to compete in this sport at the Summer Paralympics. The classification for this sport was created during the 1940s and for much of its early history was a medical condition based classification system. The classification system has subsequently become a functional mobility based one, and is moving towards an evidence-based classification system.
The Men's 100m athletics events for the 2012 Summer Paralympics took place at the London Olympic Stadium from August 31 to September 8. A total of 15 events were contested over this distance for 15 different classifications.
The Men's 200m athletics events for the 2012 Summer Paralympics took place at the London Olympic Stadium from August 31 to September 8. A total of 13 events were contested over this distance for 13 different classifications.
The Men's 400m athletics events for the 2012 Summer Paralympics took place at the London Olympic Stadium from September 2 to September 8. A total of 10 events were contested over this distance for 10 different classifications.
The Women's 100m athletics events for the 2012 Summer Paralympics took place at the London Olympic Stadium from August 31 to September 8. A total of 14 events were contested over this distance for 14 different classifications.
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.
The Men's 100m athletics events for the 2016 Summer Paralympics take place at the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange from September 8 to September 16, 2016. A total of 16 events were contested over this distance, and entry was open in 19 classifications.
The Men's 400m athletics events for the 2016 Summer Paralympics take place at the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange from September 8 to September 16, 2016. A total of 15 events were contested over this distance for 19 different classifications.
The Men's 200m athletics events for the 2016 Summer Paralympics take place at the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange from September 8 to September 16, 2016. A total of 15 events were contested over this distance for 19 different classifications.
The Men's marathon athletics events for the 2016 Summer Paralympics took place in the streets of Rio de Janeiro on the 18 September. A total of three events were contested over this distance for three different disability classifications.
The women's marathon athletics events for the 2016 Summer Paralympics took place in the streets of Rio de Janeiro on the 18 September. A total of two events were contested over this distance for three different disability classifications.
The Women's 400m athletics events for the 2016 Summer Paralympics take place at the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange from 8 September to 17 September 2016. A total of 12 events were contested over this distance for 15 different classifications.
The Men's 4 x 100 metres relay athletics events for the 2016 Summer Paralympics took place at the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange between 12 and 15 September 2016. A total of two events was contested over this distance, with the T11-T13 event being open to three different disability classifications for visually impaired athletes and the T42-47 event open to six classifications for athletes with limb deficiencies.