Paralympic Games

The Paralympic Games are international multisport competitions for athletes with disabilities, held in Summer and Winter editions after the corresponding Olympic Games.

Paralympic classification: A system that groups athletes by how eligible impairments affect performance in a particular sport. It creates competition classes intended to limit the effect of impairment on results.
Stoke Mandeville Games: A sports event for injured service personnel first held at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in 1948. These competitions are widely recognized as the direct precursor to the Paralympic Games.
Wheelchair rugby: A Paralympic team sport in which athletes maneuver wheelchairs to carry a ball across the opposing goal line. Its collisions and specialized chairs show how equipment shapes Paralympic competition.
Disability rights movement: A social and political movement seeking equal rights and full participation for disabled people. Paralympic visibility intersects with wider demands for access and social inclusion.
Paralympic sports: Sports included in the Paralympic programme, with rules and equipment adapted where needed. The Games bring these sports together in one international competition.
Ludwig Guttmann: A German-born British neurologist who developed rehabilitation programmes for people with spinal cord injuries. He organized the Stoke Mandeville competitions that helped launch the movement.
Para athletics: Track and field events for athletes with eligible impairments, including racing, jumping, and throwing. It demonstrates how one sport can use multiple classes and event formats.
Accessibility: The design of environments, products, and services so people with varied abilities can use them. Hosting the Games can prompt changes to transport, venues, and public spaces.
International Paralympic Committee: The international organization that governs the Paralympic Movement and oversees the Paralympic Games. It coordinates the Games and sets standards for the Paralympic Movement.
Rome 1960 Paralympic Games: The first international Games later recognized as the Summer Paralympics, held in Rome in 1960. They established the recurring international event from which the modern Summer Games developed.

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