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).
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.
Australia has participated officially in every Summer Paralympics Games since its inauguration in 1960 and in the Winter Paralympics Games since 1980.
The Philippines competed at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney. The country was represented by two athletes: Andres Lubin in the men's javelin, and Adeline Dumapong in women's powerlifting, in the up to 82.5 kg category.
Lesotho made its Paralympic Games début at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney. It has competed in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since then, but never in the Winter Paralympics. Lesotho has never won a medal at the Paralympic Games.
Tunisia made its Paralympic Games debut at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul. It was represented by a single athlete, Monaam Elabed, who won two bronze medals in athletics. The country has competed in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics, although it has never taken part in the Winter Paralympics. Tunisian competitors have only ever taken part in athletics events, with the sole exception of Dalila Tabai who competed in powerlifting in 2000.
Burkina Faso competed at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. They were represented by one male athlete.
Ivory Coast competed at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. The country, competing at only their second Paralympic Games, was represented by 2 male athletes. These were the country's second appearance at the Paralympic Games.
Lesotho competed at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. Making their Paralympic debut at the Sydney, Australia hosted Games, they were represented by two athletes.
There were 1 female and 2 male athletes representing the country at the 2000 Summer Paralympics.
There were 1 female and 9 male athletes representing the country at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. Competitors from Cuba won 8 medals, including 4 golds, 2 silvers, and 2 bronzes to finish ranked 34th.
There were 0 female and 4 male athletes representing the country at the 2000 Summer Paralympics.
During the 2000 Paralympics, one female athlete and one male athlete represented Uruguay at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney. Uruguay did not win any medals during the 2000 Paralympics.
There were fifteen female and twenty-four male athletes representing the country at the 2000 Summer Paralympics, winning nine medals in total and with three of these being won by Mairead Berry.
There were 0 female and 2 male athletes representing the country at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. Both of them competed in athletics.
There were 4 female and 22 male athletes representing the country at the 2000 Summer Paralympics.
There were 0 female and 4 male athletes representing the country at the 2000 Summer Paralympics.
Tonga participated in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9, 2012. Their participation marked their fourth consecutive Summer Paralympics appearance since their début at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney. Tonga was represented by the Tonga National Paralympic Committee, and was one of the 45 participating countries that sent only a single athlete. Tonga has always sent only a single athlete from Sydney 2000 to London 2012. Tonga National Paralympic Committee sent a delegation of three people, including one athlete. The sole athlete to represent the nation was ʻAloʻalo Liku, who participated in javelin and discus throw. Liku was the country's flag-bearer during the Games' opening ceremony. Tonga did not win a medal at these Games, however Liku finished with seasonal bests in both the events.
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.
Sitting volleyball classification is the classification system for sitting volleyball. Only people with lower leg paralysis or lower leg extremity amputations are eligible to compete. The sport is governed by World Paravolley [formerly known as World Organization Volleyball for the Disabled]].
