Paralympic Games 2024: what is Para swimming? 

Para Swimming at this year's Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place from 29 August 29 to 7 September 7. It will see over 600 athletes competing across 141 medal events. The events will be held at the Paris La Defense Arena.

This year's Para swimming competitions invite over 600 athletes from various nations to compete in a number of different swimming disciplines — including freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, individual medley, and relay events.

As per all Paralympic events, a classification system ensuring fair competition among athletes with different types and levels of impairments​ will be enforced during the games.

The first medals in Para swimming will be awarded in the men's 400m freestyle S9 event, and will conclude on 7 September with the mixed 4x100m medley relay.

It will be a celebration of athletic achievement and human spirit, set in a world-class venue with a commitment to inclusivity and sustainability. The competition will not only highlight the skills of the swimmers but also hopes to inspire audiences worldwide.

Classification System, Competition Format, and Rules and Modifications

Classification

Similar to classification by age, gender and weight in other sports, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) uses a classification system for competitions.

Through classification, which is sport specific, it is determined which athletes are eligible to compete in a sport and how those athletes are then placed together for competition. By doing so, the impact of these athletes' impairments on their spot performance is minimised in a competitive space.

There are a list of different impairment types in the Paralympic movement that determine an athlete's classification. They can be found and explained in detail here.

The classification system in Para swimming includes:

1. Physical Impairments (Classes S1-S10):

   • S1-S10: These classes are for swimmers with physical disabilities. The lower the number, the more severe the physical impairment. Swimmers in these classes may have different types of impairments, such as loss of limb(s), cerebral palsy, or spinal cord injuries.
     • S1-S2: Severe physical impairment (e.g., severe coordination problems in four limbs, high degree of loss of function).
     • S3-S4: Significant physical impairment (e.g., amputations of all limbs, moderate to severe coordination problems).
     • S5-S6: Moderate physical impairment (e.g., short stature, moderate coordination problems, loss of function in lower limbs).
     • S7-S8: Mild to moderate physical impairment (e.g., single limb amputations, moderate loss of function in one limb).
     • S9-S10: Minimal physical impairment (e.g., minor coordination problems, loss of function in one hand).

2. Visual Impairments (Classes S11-S13):

   • S11: Swimmers with very low or no vision. They are required to wear blacked-out goggles and often use a tapper to signal the wall.
   • S12: Swimmers with better but still significant visual impairment.
   • S13: Swimmers with the least severe visual impairment within the classification.

3. Intellectual Impairments (Class S14):

   • S14: Swimmers with intellectual disabilities. These athletes meet criteria that typically include a certain level of IQ and adaptive behavior scores.

In addition to the S classification for freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly events:

• SB: Classifications for breaststroke, which has a different set of physical demands.
• SM: Classifications for individual medley, which involves swimming multiple strokes.

The number after the SB or SM is consistent with the swimmer’s S class, reflecting their impairment level for those specific strokes. For instance, a swimmer might be classified as S8, SB7, SM8, indicating their classification in freestyle/backstroke/butterfly, breaststroke, and individual medley, respectively.

These classifications ensure that athletes compete against others with similar levels of function, promoting fair competition and recognizing the varied abilities within the Para swimming community.

Competition Format

The competition fomat of Para swimming, governed by the IPC, follows a similar structure to that of Olympic swimming. To accomodate the classification system of Para swimming, there are some adaptions.

Race style and length is as follows:

• Freestyle: 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m
• Backstroke: 50m, 100m
• Breaststroke: 50m, 100m
• Butterfly: 50m, 100m
• Individual Medley: 150m, 200m
• Relays: 4x50m, 4x100m

The typical competition format looks like this:

• Events:

  • Para swimming events are organized based on stroke type (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and individual medley) and distance (ranging from 50 meters to 400 meters).
  • Relays (e.g., 4x50m or 4x100m freestyle and medley relays) are also part of the competition.

• Heats:

  • Competitions typically begin with preliminary heats. Swimmers are seeded into heats based on their entry times.
  • The number of heats and the distribution of swimmers are determined by the number of entries and pool lanes available. The fastest swimmers from the heats (usually the top 8 or 10, depending on the event and competition rules) advance to the finals. Finals can be A-finals (top swimmers competing for medals) and, in some competitions, B-finals (next fastest swimmers)

• Seeding:

  • Swimmers are seeded based on their entry times. The goal is to place swimmers with similar times in the same heat to ensure competitive races.
  • In the finals, swimmers are seeded by their times achieved in the heats, with the fastest swimmer placed in the center lanes.

• Medals and Awards:

  • Medals are awarded to the top three finishers in each final (gold for first place, silver for second, and bronze for third).

• Record-Keeping:

  • World records, regional records, and championship records are tracked and recognized by the IPC.
  • Swimmers strive to break these records, adding an additional level of competition.

• Additional Considerations:

  • Tappers are used for visually impaired swimmers (S11) to signal the approach of the pool wall.
  • Swimmers in some classifications may start from the water if they cannot use the starting blocks.

Rules and Modifications

• Starts: Swimmers with lower limb impairments may start in the water.
• Turns and Finishes: Modifications allow athletes to perform turns and finishes in ways suitable to their impairments, ensuring safety and fairness.
• Assistance: Swimmers with visual impairments are allowed "tappers," assistants who tap the swimmer to indicate turns and the finish.

What to Expect at Para Swimming Paris 2024

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will feature swimming competitions that promise to showcase remarkable athleticism and sportsmanship. Here are some key aspects to anticipate:

Venue

• Paris Aquatics Centre: A state-of-the-art facility designed to be accessible and provide a world-class experience for both athletes and spectators.

Innovations and Highlights

• Technology: Enhanced timing systems and underwater cameras will be used to ensure precise measurement of performance and fair adjudication of races.
• Sustainability: The Paris 2024 Games emphasize sustainability, and the swimming venue will incorporate eco-friendly technologies and practices.

Broadcast and Coverage

• Extensive media coverage will allow global audiences to follow the action, with live broadcasts, highlights, and special features on the athletes and their journeys.

Making Para swimming history

Trischa Zorn

Born in Orange, California, Trischa Zorn has always gone for gold. Making Paralympic history, she is crowned as the Para swimmer to hold the record for most gold medals.

How many medals does it take to obtain a world record? For our readers, we advise you to hold on tight before reading any further.

The answer is 55. Throughout her extraordinary career that began in 1980 and ended in 2004, Zorn has competed in 7 Paralympic games, and has won a total of 55 Paralympic medals, 41 of them gold. She remained unbeaten in her individual events at the Paralympic Games between 1980 and 1992, and by age 32, she held 29 Paralympic medals — 16 gold, the rest silver and bronze.

Blind from birth, Trischa left nothing but crumbs for her competitors in her competing categories: S12, SB12 and SM12. This record makes the American national the most successful sportswoman in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games combined.

In South Korea, Zorn took home a whopping 12 gold medals. Here, she competed in four different distance races — 50m, 100m, 200m, and 400m. She also performed a number of different swimming strokes including butterfly, breaststroke, backstroke and freestyle.

In 2012, her honourable sporting achievements were noted when she was initiated into the Paralympic Hall of Fame by the International Parlympic Committee.

Béatrice Hess is a French success story

Reigning at the same time as Trischa Zorn, Béatrice Hess is another queen of the pool when it comes to Para swimming.

The Frenchwoman who suffers from Pompe's disease — a form of degenerative multiple sclerosis that deprives her of the use of her legs — owned her S5 category.

At her first Paralympics in 1984, she won four gold medals. This was soon followed by another 16, as well as five silver and one bronze. Her career remained active until her retirement in Athens, 2004.

However, winning medals is not her only forte. In 1996 at the Paralympic Games, Hess was the flag-bearer in Atlanta. She also took on the role of captain of the French team at the Sydney Games in 2000.

She may be ambitious in the water but she is equally ambitious out of it.

She is a member of the Olympic and Paralympic Flag Bearers Commission for Paris 2024, as well as the International Olympic Committee's Women and Sport Commission, and the Federal Committee of the French Disabled Sports Federation.

Now aged 62, Béatrice Hess is the most successful French athlete in the history of the Paralympic Games.