The modern Olympic Games or Olympics are leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are held every four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years but two years apart.
The 1988 Summer Paralympics, were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" came into official use.
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is the National Olympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 and it is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In addition, the USOC is one of only four NOCs in the world that also serve as the National Paralympic Committee for their country. The USOC is responsible for supporting, entering and overseeing U.S. teams for the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Youth Olympic Games, Pan American Games, and Parapan American Games and serves as the steward of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements in the United States.
The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 to 29 October. In September 1993, Sydney won the rights to host the 2000 Paralympic Games. To secure this right it was expected that the New South Wales Government would underwrite the budget for the games. The Sydney games were the 11th Summer Paralympic Games, where an estimated 3,800 athletes took part in the programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000. It was followed by the 11 days of fierce international competition and was the second largest sporting event ever held in Australia. They were also the first Paralympic Games outside the Northern Hemisphere.
The 1980 Summer Paralympics, branded as the Olympics for the Disabled, were the sixth Summer Paralympic Games. They were held in Arnhem, Netherlands, from June 21 to 30, 1980.
A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games. They may nominate cities within their respective areas as candidates for future Olympic Games. NOCs also promote the development of athletes and training of coaches and officials at a national level within their geographies.
The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2016, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 526 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about 72 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another.
The Paralympic symbols are the icons, flags, and symbols used by the International Paralympic Committee to promote the Paralympic Games.
The Olympic medal table is a method of sorting the medal placements of countries in the modern-day Olympics and Paralympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not officially recognize a ranking of participating countries at the Olympic Games. Nevertheless, the IOC does publish medal tallies for information purposes, showing the total number of Olympic medals earned by athletes representing each country's respective National Olympic Committee. The convention used by the IOC is to sort by the number of gold medals the athletes from a country have earned. In the event of a tie in the number of gold medals, the number of silver medals is taken into consideration, and then the number of bronze medals. If two countries have an equal number of gold, silver, and bronze medals, they are ordered in the table alphabetically by their IOC country code.
Tunisia participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens. Tunisians athletes won a total of eight gold medals, seven silver and three bronze.
Nigeria competed at the 2000 Summer Paralympics, sending a 31-member strong delegation that won 13 medals, 7 of which were gold.
Nigeria competed at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. The team included 14 athletes, 6 men and 8 women. Competitors from Nigeria won 12 medals, including 5 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze.
Para-athletics classification is the basis for determining who can compete in specific athletic sports, and within which class. Classification is handled by the International Paralympic Committee, with classification spelled in the IPC Athletics Classification Handbook. People with physical, vision and intellectual disabilities are eligible to compete in this sport. 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.
Para-swimming classification is a function-based classification system designed to allow for fair competition in disability swimming. The classes are prefixed with "S" for freestyle, butterfly and backstroke events, "SB" for breaststroke and "SM" for individual medley events. Swimmers with physical disabilities are divided into ten classes based on their degree of functional disability. Those with visual impairments are placed in three additional classes: S11, S12 and S13. One more class, S14, is reserved for swimmers with intellectual disabilities. A final class, S15, is for athletes with hearing loss.
Nigeria competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom from August 29 to September 9, 2012. Nigerian Paralympians combined won more medals than their Olympic counterparts in London, winning 6 golds, 5 silvers and 2 bronze medals.
The Colombian Olympic Committee or COC is the governing Olympic body of Colombia. Its mission is the coordination of efforts to protect the Olympic movement and consolidate its development, compliance with the rules of the Olympic Charter and promote the preparation, selection and participation of athletes in the Olympic Games and other national and international competitions.
Nigeria competed at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain, making their Paralympic debut. 6 competitors from Nigeria won 3 medals, all gold, and so finished 33rd the medal table. They competed in athletics, table tennis and powerlifting. Adeoye Ajibola was the country's big success story of these Games, going on to represent Nigeria in non-disability athletics and coming within a second of the men's non-disability 100m world record. Monday Emoghawve was the country's other gold medal winner in Barcelona, claiming gold in men's powerlifting.
