The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. 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).
The National Indoor Stadium (国家体育馆), a.k.a Folding Fan (折扇), is an arena located at Olympic Green in Chaoyang, Beijing, China.
Beijing Guoan Football Club, known internationally as Beijing FC, is a Chinese professional football club based in Beijing, that competes in the Chinese Super League, the top tier of Chinese football. Beijing Guoan plays its home matches at the Workers' Stadium, located within Chaoyang District. In early 2021, the shareholders changed from the real estate company Sinobo Group (64%) and CITIC Limited (36%) of CITIC Group to just Sinobo Group (100%). Beijing Guoan is one of the four clubs to have never been relegated from the Chinese top-flight since the Chinese Super League's foundation in 2004.
Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held during the last ten days of the games, from August 15 to August 24, 2008, at the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic sport of athletics is split into four distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking events.
Cheating at the Paralympic Games has caused scandals that have significantly changed the way in which the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) manages the events.
Canada, represented by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, from August 8 to 24, 2008. Canadian athletes had competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1900 with the exception of 1980, which were boycotted in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Canada sent 332 athletes in 25 sports, the seventh largest team at the games and Canada's largest since 1988. Canada did not send a team in handball, volleyball or basketball. Kayaker and 2004 Summer Olympics gold medalist Adam van Koeverden was the flag bearer at the opening ceremonies; Karen Cockburn bore the flag at the closing.
The World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) was a multi-sport event created by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) as a "stepping stone on the path of introducing a third kind of Olympic Games" after the Summer and the Winter Olympics".
New Zealand sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. The country was represented by thirty athletes competing in 7 sports: athletics, boccia, cycling, power-lifting, shooting, swimming and wheelchair rugby.
Norway sent a delegation of 24 competitors, to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, from September 6 to September 17, 2008.
The United States sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. A total of 213 U.S. competitors took part in 18 sports; the only 2 sports Americans did not compete in were soccer 5-a-side and 7-a-side. The American delegation included 16 former members of the U.S. military, including 3 veterans of the Iraq War. Among them were shot putter Scott Winkler, who was paralyzed in an accident in Iraq, and swimmer Melissa Stockwell, a former United States Army officer who lost her left leg to a roadside bomb in the war.
Hong Kong competed under the name "Hong Kong, China" at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Hong Kong sent 21 athletes to compete in eight events at the Beijing Games. Although Hong Kong's NPC was a separate member of the IPC, Hong Kong hosted the equestrian events.
Erin Popovich is a three-time United States Paralympic swimmer. She has won 14 career Paralympic gold medals, and 19 total.
Antonis Aresti is a former athlete and Paralympian from Cyprus who competed mainly in category T46 and T47 sprint events.
The Marshall Islands has competed in four summer Olympiads. It has yet to compete at a Winter Olympic Games. The Marshall Islands Olympic debut was at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The highest number of Marshallese athletes participating in a Summer Games is five in the 2008 games in Beijing. No athlete from the Marshall Islands has ever won a medal at the Olympics.
Mi Na is a Chinese Paralympic athlete who competes in throwing events for F37 classification cerebral palsy athletes.
S8, SB7, SM8 are disability swimming classifications used for categorizing swimmers based on their level of disability. This class includes a number of different disabilities including people with amputations and cerebral palsy. The classification is governed by the International Paralympic Committee, and competes at the Paralympic Games.
S8, SB8, SM8 are disability swimming classifications used for categorizing swimmers based on their level of disability. Swimmers in this class generally have severe weakness in one leg. This class includes a number of different disabilities including people with amputations and cerebral palsy. The classification is governed by the International Paralympic Committee, and competes at the Paralympic Games.
Michael Roeger is an Australian T46 athletics competitor. He competed at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics athletics in middle distance and marathon running events. He has won one gold and three bronze medals at the IPC Athletics World Championships and a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. His gold in the Men's T46 marathon at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships was held as part of the London Marathon, set a new world record. Roeger competed at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics in the marathon.
Roger Puigbò i Verdaguer is Spanish track and field athlete. He has a disability and uses a wheelchair. He is a long-distance athlete, competing in wheelchair marathons around the world. Puigbo competed at the 2004 Summer Paralympics, 2008 Summer Paralympics, and 2012 Summer Paralympics.
