Athletics Paralympics Games

Overview

The Paralympics are a great opportunity for athletes with a disability who want to pursue sports to be at the international level.

It covers a wide range of sports and takes place just after the Olympics.

History

The first Paralympics took place in 1960 in Rome, Italy. At that time, 400 disabled athletes from 23 countries participated in it.

It went so well that now 4000 athletes from 160 countries have participated. Nowadays, even those people make a career in Paralympic athletes whose hopes had died due to being disabled.

Events

Paralympic athletics compete in a variety of sports, including track events such as the 100m wheelchair sprint, field events such as wheelchair basketball, and throws events, all of which are for people with different types of disabilities.

Significance

Paralympics enhances the talent of those handicapped people who suppress their talent due to various types of disabilities.

This game boosts the spirits of these people and acts as a source of inspiration for all those who are interested in playing and this game gives respect to all of them.

What qualifies an athlete for Paralympics?

To get to the Paralympics, athletes must prove their disability and their talent is sufficient to qualify. Here’s a quick overview

Impairment Type:

To qualify for this, the athlete must have a physical and mental disability that falls under specific categories.

Physical Impairments:

Such as missing a body part, brain being separated from the rest, spinal cord injury or muscle weakness

Visual Impairments:

being completely blind or having no eye at all

Intellectual Impairments:

Have conditions that affect cognitive functioning. Athletes must have a physical, visual or mental disability

Classification

Athletes have to undergo an aptitude test to select a sport based on their disability. This helps ensure that all people with the same disabilities compete in the same sport and that the competition is fair.

Classification involves medical evaluation and functional testing.

Sport-Specific Standards

Each sport has its own set of rules and qualification criteria. Athletes must meet performance criteria set by international federations. They must check their eligibility and achieve time, distance, and score.

National Governing Bodies

Athletes will usually be assigned a qualification by the National Paralympic Committee and governing body for their sport.
This includes meeting national criteria and qualifying at national competitions.

Performance and Ranking

Sometimes international star athletes at the Paralympics must maintain their rankings among the best athletes in their sport in order to remain competitive.

What sports are in the Paralympics 2024 Olympics?

The Paralympics to be held in 2024 will include different types of sports such as

Athletics:- Track and field events for athletes with different disabilities.

Archery:- Different types of targets and archery games for differently abled people.

Badminton:- A racket sport competing for different classifications.

Boccia:- Stick ball game for the more severely physically handicapped.

Canoe:- Kayak and va’a (outrigger canoe) races.

Cycling:- Road and track cycling events for different categories of disabilities.

Equestrian:- Dressage competition for physically and visually impaired people.

Football 5-a-side:- A kind of football game for the visually impaired.

Football 7-a-side:- A type of football game for athletes with mental disabilities.

Goalball:- A team event for visually impaired athletes.

Judo:- A martial arts event designed for the visually impaired.

Powerlifting:- Weight lifting with categories for different levels of weakness.

Rowing:- Adaptive rowing events.

Sitting Volleyball:- Volleyball is played while sitting for people with different disabilities.

Swimming:- There are different types of swimming events for athletes with different types of disabilities.

Table Tennis:- A sport adapted for different types of disabilities.

Taekwondo:- A martial arts event for the physically challenged.

Triathlon:- A multi-disciplinary program for the differently abled.

Wheelchair Basketball:- Basketball played in wheelchairs.

Wheelchair Fencing:- Sword play while sitting in a wheel chair.

Wheelchair Rugby:- A full contact sport for wheelchair-bound athletes.

Wheelchair Tennis:- Tennis events adapted for athletes in wheelchairs.

 Father of the Paralympics

Sir Ludwig Guttmann: The Father of the Paralympics.

He was born in 3 July 1899 in Silesia, Poland. He was a neurologist who founded the Stock Mandeville Games for people with disabilities.

In 1939 he began working at the Mandeville Hospital in the UK, where he treated spinal cord injuries.

 

 

 

India’s First Paralympics Gold Medal

Murlikant Petkar was the first person to win a gold medal for India.

He won this medal in 1972 when the Paralympics were held in Heidelberg, Germany.

He won this medal in 50 meter freestyle swimming.

This achievement was a memorable moment for him and India which further strengthened his confidence and became an inspiration for upcoming Paralympic athletes.