Paralympic Sports

Athletes not only compete by sport and event at the Paralympic Games, as in the Olympic Games, but also by disability category. Along with these categories there are also 50 levels of disability to ensure that athletes compete fairly against other athletes with a similar degree of disability.

There are currently five basic disability categories in which athletes are eligible to compete:

• Amputee: athletes who have a partial or total loss of at least one limb
• Cerebral Palsy: athletes with a brain disorder that results in problems with movement and posture
• Spinal cord injuries: athletes have at least a 10% loss of function of the lower limbs
• Vision-impaired: athletes with vision difficulties ranging from partial sight to total blindness
• Les autres: (French term literally meaning ‘the others’) athletes who have any other recognised disability, for example multiple sclerosis

There is one further disability group ‘intellectual disability’ that is currently under review by the IPC as to whether it will again be included as a competitive category. This is due to be reviewed following the 2008 Beijing Games.

As with the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games is divided into Summer Games and Winter Games but not all disability groups compete in each sport.