The History of the Paralympic Games
Paralympic history began in 1948 at a hospital for war veterans in Stoke Mandeville, located 60 kilometres north of London. German neurologist Sir Ludwig Guttman was looking for a way to help his paraplegic patients, all World War II veterans, rehabilitate more quickly. His specialised unit was made up Royal Air Force pilots with spinal cord injuries, who all needed to use wheelchairs. Dr Guttman organised sporting events as the Olympic Games took place in London.
Sixteen veterans in wheelchairs faced off in archery and netball competitions, the latter sport already practised by American returning soldiers; by organising these competitions, Dr Guttman had unknowingly created a new sporting movement.
Until then, the problem was hopeless, because we had not only to save the life of these paraplegic or quadriplegic men, women and children but also give them back their dignity and make them happy and respected citizens.
(source: the significance of Sport in the Rehabilitation of the Disabled, International Congress, 1956).
1952
The first International Stoke Mandeville Games are held as a team of veterans from the Netherlands compete alongside British teams. From then on, the Games were held every year.
1954
The International Stoke Mandeville Games continue to develop, with 14 countries now involved. Most of the athletes, who are all paraplegic, come from hospitals or rehabilitation centres whose medical directors had followed Stoke Mandeville’s example by including sport in their physical therapy programmes.
1955
The fourth International Stoke Mandeville Games take place, with 18 countries and 200 athletes participating.
1960
The ninth International Stoke Mandeville Games, considered to be the first Paralympic Games, take place from 18 to 25 September in Rome, six days after the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games. Five thousand people attend the Opening Ceremony at the Acqua Acetosa Stadium. 23 nations take part, sending 400 athletes — all in wheelchairs — who compete in eight sports: Para athletics, wheelchair basketball, Para swimming, Para table tennis, Para archery, snooker, dartchery (a combination of darts and archery) and wheelchair fencing.
1964
The Paralympic Games take place in Tokyo from 3 to 12 November, 10 days after the Closing Ceremony of the Olympics, which are also held in the Japanese capital.
21 countries and 375 athletes are involved in the competition. Para powerlifting is introduced to the programme, as is wheelchair racing in the form of a 60m dash. Specialised sports wheelchairs do not yet exist, so athletes use everyday wheelchairs that weigh a minimum of 15kg instead. Sport-specific wheelchairs — although still homemade — do not arrive until the beginning of the 1980s. Modern wheelchairs used in Para athletics have a distinctive shape with a third wheel at the front and are made of aluminium with carbon wheels. They weigh around 7kg — half the weight of those first used for wheelchair racing.
1968
For technical reasons the Paralympic Games are moved from Mexico City (where the Olympics are held) to Tel Aviv. They run from 4 to 13 November, drawing 750 athletes from 29 nations. Women’s wheelchair basketball makes its Paralympic debut, as well as a standout event of the Paralympic Games today: the 100m wheelchair race.
1972
The Paralympic Games are held from 3 to 11 August in Heidelberg, Germany, ahead of the Olympic Games in Munich. 984 athletes from 43 countries, all of whom are in wheelchairs, compete. Two significant milestones occur during the 1972 Paralympics: amputees campaign for the right to participate, and delegation heads and coaches meet to discuss the implementation of rules in each event. They decide to create subcommittees for each sport within the Stoke Mandeville Games Organising Committee. This decision gives each discipline greater independence to develop and opens the door to future classification systems of disabilities in each sport.
1976
The fifth Paralympic Games are held in Toronto, Canada from 3 to 11 August, just a few days after the end of the Olympic Games in Montreal. 1,657 athletes (including just 253 women) representing 40 countries are involved. In an historic first, amputees (261) and athletes with a visual impairment (187) compete at the Games. 18-year-old Canadian Arnie Boldt, an above the leg amputee, delivers a stunning performance in the men’s high jump, clearing 1.86 metres to win gold. He is honoured at the Closing Ceremony as the most outstanding athlete of the Games.
Goalball, shooting and the new wheelchair racing distances of 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m are introduced to the Paralympic programme. These Games also marked considerable progress in terms of media coverage and were broadcast on Canadian television every day.
The first Winter Paralympic Games are also held in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden.
1980
The Paralympic Games are held from 21 to 30 June in Arnhem, Netherlands. 1,973 athletes from 43 countries take part. Athletes (125) with cerebral palsy compete at the Games for the first time. Sitting volleyball, practised solely by amputees, makes its Paralympic debut.
1984
The Paralympic Games are held in two locations; in New York (from 17 to 30 June) for wheelchair and ambulatory athletes with cerebral palsy, amputees, and visually impaired athletes; and in Stoke Mandeville (from 22 July to 1 August) for wheelchair athletes with spinal cord injuries. 2,900 athletes representing 45 countries compete at the Games.
Amputee athletes (standing and in wheelchairs) are placed into nine classification categories, athletes with cerebral palsy are divided into eight, athletes with visual impairments into three and other disabilities into six.
1988
For the first time in history, the Paralympic Games are held at the same site as the Olympic Games in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The competition takes place two weeks after the Olympic Closing Ceremony (15-24 October) with 3,057 athletes from 60 countries participating. Several Olympic officials are recruited and specially trained in Paralympic competitions to carry out their roles at both Games.
French Paralympian Mustapha Badid steals the headlines after winning gold in the men’s 200m, 1500m, 5000m, and marathon wheelchair racing events, as well as finishing first in the 1500m demonstration event featured at the Olympic Games. Dennis Oehler (USA) makes Paralympic history in Seoul by becoming the first leg amputee to run 100m in under 12 seconds; the American claimed gold with a time of 11.73 seconds.
22 September 1989
The International Paralympic Committee is founded.
1992
In March and April, the towns of Tignes and Albertville in France host the fifth Winter Paralympic Games which take place at the same site as the Winter Olympic Games — a historic first.
The Summer Paralympic Games are held in Barcelona from 3 to 14 September, drawing 2,999 athletes from 83 countries. 15 sports are contested, including wheelchair tennis — a new addition to the Paralympic programme. 1.5 million people tune in to watch the Games on television. Notably, almost half of the athletes involved compete in the athletics and swimming events. 279 world records are set, including Heinz Frei (SUI) completing the marathon in just 1 hour and 30 minutes. Nigerian amputee Ajibola Adeoye wins the 100m sprint in 10.72 seconds and the 200m in 21.83 seconds. Tanni Grey-Thompson (GBR) claims four golds in the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m wheelchair racing events.
1996
Atlanta plays host to the 10th Summer Paralympic Games from 16 to 25 August, with 3,259 athletes from 104 countries competing. An important milestone in Paralympic history takes place as 56 athletes with intellectual impairments compete alongside those with physical and visual impairments in the athletic and swimming events.
2000
The 11th Summer Paralympic Games are held in Sydney from 18 to 29 October. 3,879 athletes from 123 countries compete at the Games. The Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committees share resources, so site managers and other officials are in charge of both Games. The programme includes 18 sports: Para archery, Para athletics, boccia, Para cycling, Para equestrian, goalball, Para judo, Para powerlifting, sailing, football 7‑a-side (for athletes with motor disabilities), shooting Para sport, sitting volleyball, Para swimming, Para table-tennis, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby, and wheelchair tennis. Women take part in the Para powerlifting competitions for the first time, and wheelchair rugby makes its Paralympic debut as the USA win gold after beating Australia 32-31 in a thrilling final.
300 million viewers across more than 100 countries watch the broadcast of the Games, while 1.2 million tickets are sold for the event. Spain was stripped of their intellectual disability basketball gold medal shortly after the Games closed after it emerged players had pretended to be intellectually disabled when they were not. As a result, athletes with intellectual impairments were then excluded from the programme of future Games, as the system for assessing their disabilities required reform.
19 June 2001
The IOC and IPC sign an agreement guaranteeing and protecting the organisation of the Paralympic Games and ensuring that, from the Beijing 2008 Games onwards, the Paralympic Games would always be held shortly after the Olympic Games and use the same sporting venues, facilities and Athletes’ Village, and that entry fees and travel costs would be covered to the same extent. Every future host city will therefore organise both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
2004
The 12th Summer Paralympic Games take place in Athens from 17 to 28 September; 3,808 athletes from 135 countries — 17 of which are making their Paralympic debuts — are involved in the proceedings.
This is the first year in which the Olympic and Paralympic Games have a shared Organising Committee. 50 international channels and 1,103 media outlets cover the spectacle — a new record. At the Closing Ceremony the Agitos, the symbol of the Paralympic movement, are revealed in their current form.
Brazil wins the first Paralympic blind football tournament, while the handcycling event also makes its debut. Women’s competitions in Para judo and sitting volleyball are held for the first time.
2008
The Beijing Paralympic Games are held from 6 to 17 September, with 146 countries and 3,951 athletes participating. Para rowing is added to the official programme, bringing the number of sports to 20. Media coverage continues to increase, with 5,800 accredited journalists covering the Games, which are broadcast in 80 countries to 3.8 billion television viewers.
2012
The London Paralympic Games run from 29 August to 9 September, with 164 countries competing. Spectators fill stadiums to see the Paralympics come home to Britain, and 2.7 million tickets are sold — a new record. The event inspired unprecedented excitement from the public and enjoyed greater media coverage than ever before. The mascot of the Paralympic Games was given the name ‘Mandeville’ as a tribute to the original Games. The 4,000-athlete milestone is finally reached, with 4,237 men and women competing. Events for athletes with intellectual impairments are reintroduced.
In his closing speech, IPC President Sir Philip Craven describes the London Paralympic Games as the “greatest Paralympic Games ever”, adding they had “truly come home and found their pathway to the future here in London”.
British broadcaster Channel 4, which held the broadcasting rights at the time, shows over 150 hours of live footage, achieving a record audience of 39.9 million people — 69% of the population of Great Britain.
2016
The Paralympic Games land in South America for the first time for their 15th edition, which run in Rio from 7 to 18 September. 4,328 athletes from 160 countries participate in the events, which include two new sports (Para canoeing (straight line course) and para triathlon), bringing the Paralympic total to 22. These Games were the most heavily broadcast in history with television, radio, and online coverage in 154 countries.
2021
The Paralympic Games are held in Tokyo from 24 August to 5 September. Two new sports are introduced to the official programme: Para badminton and Para taekwondo.
*The term “Paralympic Games” was only officially used and approved by the IOC from the Games in 1984. From 1960 to 1980, they were officially known as the “International Stoke Mandeville Games”.
