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Check Some Interesting Facts About the Paralympics
Did you know that the first Paralympic games took place in Rome in 1960? Rome is the same city that most people know for launching all the Olympic Games. During the Paralympic competition in Rome, over 400 athletes suffering from spinal cord strain took part in the games at the opening ceremony. Let’s look at what is a Paralympic, its history, and its classifications?
Medical content reviewed by Dr Eric Jackson-Scott MD, Chief Medical Officer 
What are the Paralympics games?
The Paralympic games are different sports that offer a chance to the disabled athletes to compete against each other in the different categories. The athletes represent different nations and have chances of winning medals for their countries.
Paralympic history
Before the Paralympics, there were attempts by various individuals and organizers to provide platforms for those athletes with different impairments to compete in several sports. For example, in the 1800s, there were several sports clubs for deaf athletes in Berlin, but most of these attempts didn’t last long.
However, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann spearheaded the birth of the Paralympics. He opened a center for all the soldiers who suffered spinal cord injuries while on the battlefield during World War II. The soldiers used sports as rehabilitation tools at the center, but it grew more competitive with time.
Dr. Guttmann then arranged for the first Paralympics competition in 1948. This competition was held during the 1952 Olympic Games at the opening ceremony. The games resulted in Stoke Mandeville Games, later becoming the famous Paralympics games.
Disability categories
Under the Paralympic games, there are different categories under which the athletes can compete against each other. During the Paralympic winter sports and summer sports, these categories never change.
The following are the Paralympic disability classifications:
● Amputee athletes - includes all the athletes who have lost either all or one of their legs.
● Cerebral palsy athletes or non-progressive brain damages - this category includes the athletes who have suffered cerebral palsy, stroke, or brain injuries.
● All the athletes are in wheelchairs due to spinal cord injuries or other physical disabilities.
● Athletes with visual impairment - this category includes both partially and totally blind athletes.
● Intellectually disabled athletes - includes all the athletes who can’t function intellectually.
● The general category includes all the other athletes who don’t fall in any of the above categories. These athletes include those having congenital deformities, dwarfism, and multiple sclerosis.
At the Paralympics games, these athletes have no limit in the type of sport they can take part in. as long as they get the Paralympics logo, it qualifies them to play all types of games such as cycling, archery, biathlon, and many others.
Road to victory in Paralympics
After providing the appropriate answer to your question on what are the Paralympics sports? It’ll be essential to understand the journey to participating in these games is not easy. It needs extra hard work, dedication, and self-discipline to improve your fitness by training more hours. Most athletes focus on training to achieve success and even win their country a medal in the Paralympics.
Bottom line
Like the other athletes, the physically or mentally impaired athletes also have the Paralympics games they participate in and compete against each other. They have various Paralympic disability classifications that allow them to participate in different sports and win medals for their countries.
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