The 2004 Summer Paralympics, the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece from 17 to 28 September 2004. 3,808 athletes from 136 countries participated. During these games 304 World Records were broken with 448 Paralympic Games Records being broken across 19 different sports. 8,863 volunteers worked along the Organizing Committee.
Priya Naree Cooper, is an Australian world champion disabled swimmer, winning nine Paralympic gold medals as well as world records and world championships. She competed in the Australian swimming team at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Paralympics with an S8 classification. She was twice the co-captain of the Australian Paralympic team, including at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, and carried the Australian flag at the closing ceremonies for the 1992 and 1996 Summer Paralympics. Cooper has cerebral palsy and spends much of her time in a wheelchair. She attended university, working on a course in health management. After she ended her competitive Paralympic career, she became a commentator, and covered the swimming events at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
The swimming events of the 2008 Summer Paralympics were held in the Beijing National Aquatics Center between September 7 and September 15, 2008. A total of 140 gold medals were expected to be distributed. Paralympic records were broken in 122 events, of which the records in 108 events were also world records.
Table tennis at the 2008 Summer Paralympics was held in the Peking University Gymnasium from September 7 to September 15.
The Summer Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Paralympic Games are held every four years, organized by the International Paralympic Committee. Medals are awarded in every event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that the Olympic Games started in 1904.
Para swimming is an adaptation of the sport of swimming for athletes with disabilities. Para swimmers compete at the Summer Paralympic Games and at other sports competitions throughout the world. The sport is governed by the International Paralympic Committee. Both men and women compete in para swimming, racing against competitors of their own gender. Swimming has been a part of the Paralympic program since the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy.
Athletics at the 1992 Summer Paralympics consisted of 239 events, 152 for men and 62 for women. Because of a tie in the first position of the men's 100m in class B1 and another tie also happened in the third place of the high jump event in the B2 class for men, 240 gold medals, 238 silver and 240 bronze were awarded.
Swimming at the 1992 Summer Paralympics consisted of 163 events, 88 for men and 75 for women. Because of ties for third place in the women's 50 metre freestyle B3 and men's 50 metre freestyle B2 events, a total of 165 bronze medals were awarded.
The Seychelles made their Paralympic Games début at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, with just two representatives. Cyrl Charles competed in swimming, while Elvis Victor entered the shot put. Neither man won a medal. Cyrl Charles also competed in 2016, aged 53.
The 1996 Summer Paralympics were held in the United States city of Atlanta. Australia competed in 13 of the 17 sports, winning medals in 10 of those sports. At the 1996 Summer Paralympics, Australia had the second highest medal tally of any country competing. It won 42 gold, 37 silver and 27 bronze medals. It surpassed the 24 gold medals that Australia won at the 1992 Paralympics. The sports of athletics, swimming and cycling provided Australia with the majority of its medals.
S6, SB5, SM6 are para-swimming classifications used for categorising swimmers based on their level of disability. This class includes people with a number of different types of disability including short stature, major limb impairment or loss in two limbs. This includes people with cerebral palsy, people with dwarfism and amputees. The class competes at the Paralympic Games.
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: S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, S9 and S10. The lower number indicates a greater degree of impairment. Those with visual impairments are placed in classes S11, S12 and S13. Class S15 is for athletes with hearing loss. Additional classes may be reserved for swimmers with intellectual impairment: S14, S18 for swimmers with Down Syndrome or class-S14 intellectual impairment combined with a physical impairment, and S19 for swimmers with autism.
Gregory Burns, MFA, PLY is an American athlete, painter, author, motivational speaker and member of Art of the Olympians. As a competitive swimmer, Burns represented the USA in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Paralympic Games, winning two gold, two silver and one bronze medal; he has set 5 World records and numerous American records. Retiring from the Paralympics, he transitioned to IronMan events, competing in the Korea IronMan and Singapore IronMan events. He has also trekked in the Himalayas, hiked the Grand Canyon and summited Half Dome in Yosemite, Jade Mountain in Taiwan and Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia. As a contemporary artist, his paintings have been exhibited in over 80 solo exhibitions and group exhibitions in 15 different countries. Burns has conducted over 40 Artist-in-Residence programs around the globe, one of which was featured on CNN. He is the recipient of the United States Sports Academy’s 2016 Sport Artist of the Year award, (painter). During the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Gregory was one of six Olympic and Paralympic artists who were commissioned by the Olympic Foundation for Culture & Heritage to create artwork for the ‘Olympic Agora’ which was exhibited throughout Tokyo during the 2021 games, and showcased the connection between sports and art. Gregory’s paintings are now part of the Olympic Museum collection in Lausanne, Switzerland. Burns is also a member of the Olympic Education Commission. As an author, Burns has published two books in English and one in Mandarin, and has written for numerous magazines. As a motivational speaker, Burns delivers powerful multi-media keynotes and intimate fireside chats which inspire individuals to go beyond their limitations. In addition, through unique Interactive Team Art Events, Burns leads groups through a creative art making process, which promotes positive interpersonal communications and fosters out of the box thinking.
China has qualified to send athletes to the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016. Sports China competed in include blind football, archery, boccia, cycling, goalball, judo, paracanoeing, sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball.
Namibia competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016.
Bosnia and Herzegovina competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016
Sierra Leone sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the nation's third time competing at the Summer Paralympic Games after it made its debut twenty years prior at the 1996 Summer Paralympics. The delegation consisted of a single athlete, table tennis player George Wyndham, who lost both of his preliminary round matches to Zhang Yan of China and Thailand's Wanchai Chaiwut in the men's singles class 4 tournament and advanced no further in the competition.
São Tomé and Príncipe 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 debut appearance in the quadrennial event, although it had competed in the Summer Olympics six times since the 1996 Games. The delegation consisted of a single short-distance runner Alex Anjos, who was chosen as São Tomé and Príncipe's flag bearer for the opening ceremony. Anjos was disqualified from the men's 100 metres (T47) for arriving late and failed to advance into the final of the men's 400 metres (T47) after failing to set a fast enough lap time.
Mauritius sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. This was the fifth time the country had taken part in a Paralympic Games after its debut at the 1996 Summer Paralympics. The Mauritian delegation to Rio de Janeiro consisted of two athletes: wheelchair racer Brandy Perrine and short-distance swimmer Scody Victor. The nation's best result was tenth overall by Perrine in the women's 100 metres T54 event as both competitors did not progress to the final in their respective competitions.
The Faroe Islands sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. They sent one participant, Krista Mørkøre, who participated in three events in swimming. Her top finish was 10th in women's 400 m freestyle S10, and she did not qualify for the finals of any of her three events.
