The Paralympic Games are the pinnacle of human tenacity, inventiveness, and the transformative potential of sport, and they go beyond just physical ability. The information in this part illustrates the amazing development and history of the Paralympics as well as the amazing athletes who compete.
The Paralympics began as a rehabilitation program for veterans of World War II. In 1948, paraplegic soldiers in England, at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, were challenged to play sports as part of the rehabilitation program. This small, harmless initiative has grown into one of the most esteemed sporting events around the world.
To the chagrin of many, the "para" in "Paralympics" does not connote "paralysis." Rather, the prefix comes from the Greek term "para," meaning "beside" or "alongside." This then means that the Paralympics occur besides the Olympic Games, thus showing parallel efforts among disabled athletes.
The Paralympics have a very sophisticated classification system, and the purpose of it is to ensure that there is fair competition among the athletes; hence, the competitions are classified in terms of how their impairments may impact specific tasks in particular, which also makes sports and disability accessible.
This is a contact-intensive sport that was even called "murderball" due to the aggressive nature of the game. Players collide fiercely, and this makes their strength and determination incredible.
The participants of all participating countries wear blindfolds, including people with partial vision. This is what makes these games level, as the ball used has bells inside it so that participants can locate it by sound; the immense spatial awareness and coordination of the athletes make this an incredible spectacle.
The Paralympics also feature sports that are specifically Paralympic, for example, boccia and goalball. Boccia is an accurate ball sport for athletes who have very high motor impairments, and all the players in goalball are visually impaired: a team tries to throw a ball with bells in it into the opponent's goal.
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games has therefore set a new record with 1,983 female athletes who participated or 45% of the total number of participating athletes. This is a huge stride towards achieving gender equality in sports.
Para-swimming events do not allow the use of prosthetics and other aids in competition because the rule centers on raw athletic skill, technique, and perseverance in these events as they swim using nothing but their natural abilities.
In some para-athletics events, for example, athletes with visual impairments compete aided by a guide. The guide runs alongside the athlete, but it's the athlete who must cross the finish line first to ensure the race is compliant with competition rules-thus far, another striking feature of Paralympic sports.
An eye-opener for some of the athletes is that their Paralympic time slots have been documented to be quicker than those of their Olympic counterparts. For example, Algeria's Abdellatif Baka took the 1500m race during the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games with a recorded time of 3:48:29, which is quicker than that of Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz in the same event weeks ago at 3:50:00.
The Paralympics reminds us of strength, determination, and athleticism beyond physical impairment. From rehabilitation tools to the world's most elite sporting events, the Paralympics continues to inspire and challenge perceptions.
Facts like these simply remind us about the incredible athletes competing in the movement and the development and continued importance of the Paralympic movement toward inclusion and celebration of the human spirit.
Sources:
https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/information/50-things-to-know-about-the-paralympic-games
https://www.buzzfeed.com/abbyzinman/2024-paralympics-facts
