History of the Paralympic Games

More or less all of us know the history of the Olympic Games dating back to the Ancient Greek period. However, there is another organization, the Paralympic Games, which is held as widely as the Olympics and where athletes from all over the world participate. Paralympic Games are held in two different types as summer and winter games every two years, and in these games, disabled athletes compete in many different kinds of sports.

The Paralympic Games, which are considered as one of the largest sports organizations in the world, have been organized in recent years in integration with the Olympic Games and are held in the same country immediately after the Olympics. The story of a small organization that was started after the Second World War for the reintegration of people with disabilities into society is admirable. Let’s take a closer look at the history of the Paralympic Games.

What is the Paralympic Games?

The Paralympic Games is an international sporting event in which athletes with different disabilities participate. The organization, which is held in two different types, the Paralympic Summer Games and the Paralympic Winter Games, is held every two years. Paralympic word; It was formed by combining the words paralyzed and olympic, which means disabled in English.

Although it means Paralympics in English, if we consider that the Greek word money has a side meaning, the Paralympic Games are actually like a sub-organization of the Olympic Games we know. The Paralympic Games are organized by the International Paralympic Committee, briefly IPC, in Turkish, by the International Paralympic Committee. After the agreement between the IPC and the International Olympic Committee in 2001, the Paralympic Games and the Olympic Games became two integrated organizations.

Where were the Paralympic Games held for the first time?

The year is 1948. The Second World War has just ended and the world is celebrating the end of this bloody war with joy. But not everyone celebrates. In this bloody war in which countless people lost their lives, countless people became disabled as a result of war wounds and returned to their country as veterans. Unfortunately, at that time, these people both struggled with the trauma of war and had to face the inhumane attitudes of society that ignored the disabled.

Ludwig Guttmann, owner of a spinal cord injury rehabilitation center in England, opposed the neglect of these people and planned an event to reintegrate them into society. Knowing the positive effect of doing sports on the rehabilitation of disabled people, Guttmann organized a sports competition.

On the same day as the 1948 London Olympic Games, a competition called the International Wheelchair Games was held. An archery competition was held among 16 wheelchair athletes, mostly veterans, including women. This is how the first Paralympic Games in history took place.

Paralympic Games are going international:

Athletes with disabilities may not be able to participate in official sports events, but since a club founded in Berlin in 1888 by deaf athletes, they are actually disabled people were always involved in sports. Started by Ludwig Guttmann, the event has therefore grown every year with more and more participants.

These games, named Stoke Mandeville Games with the addition of javelin throw, became an international organization as a result of negotiations with the Netherlands in 1952. In 1960, the name of this organization was officially the Paralympic Games. More than 400 disabled athletes from 23 different countries participated in the event held in the same year.

The organization that became the Paralympic Games no longer consisted of just a few simple sports. In the Paralympic Games held at the Rome Olympic Stadium right after the Olympic Games, many different sports such as archery, basketball, swimming, fencing, javelin, shooting, stick throwing, swimming, table tennis, pentathlon and billiards were fought.

Paralympic Games are growing rapidly:

Paralympic Games managed to make their name known all over the world in a short time. More than 1500 disabled athletes from 40 different countries participated in the organization held in Toronto in 1976 and they competed in 13 different sports branches. In the same year, the Paralympic Winter Games were held in Sweden.

Until the 1988 Paralympic Games held in Seoul, this organization used the same facilities as the Olympic Games. When we came to 1996, the Paralympic Games held that year gained an undisputed success as the World’s Second Largest Sports Event. It no longer only appealed to people with disabilities as a result of spinal cord injuries, but to athletes with disabilities around the world.

Paralympic Games and Olympic Games are becoming integrated organizations:

There has been an indisputable relationship between the Paralympic Games and the Olympic Games since day one. This relationship became official in 2001. With the agreement between the International Paralympic Committee, IPC in Turkish, International Paralympic Committee and International Olympic Committee in Turkish, IOC in Turkish, Paralympic Games were also guaranteed to be held in the country hosting the Olympic Games.

After this agreement, the financial and moral support for the Paralympic Games, which are now officially accepted to be at the same level as the Olympic Games, increased rapidly. More than 4400 disabled athletes participated in the 2020 Paralympic Summer Games held in Tokyo in 2021 as it was postponed for one year due to the pandemic.

How is the Paralympic Games classification made?

Although each of the disabled athletes participating in the Paralympic Games are true masters in their own branches, as a natural situation, the disability level of each is different. This can create the perception that the person with the fewest obstacles will always win. However, the International Paralympic Committee, which organizes the Paralympic Games, has a very sensitive classification system in this regard.

Within the scope of the classification system applied by the International Paralympic Committee, each athlete is in a category suitable for their disability level. Because the athletes in question are now world-class professionals, it cannot be left to chance. This problem is overcome by making a sensitive assessment of the athlete’s ability to perform with his disability.

Which sports are included in the Paralympic Games?

• Paralympic Summer Games sports;
  • Weight lifting
  • Athletics
  • Shooting
  • Wheelchair basketball
  • Equestrian
  • Cycling
  • Boccia
  • Lawn bowling
  • Diving
  • Fencing
  • Football
  • Goalball
  • Weightlifting
  • Judo
  • Table tennis
  • Tennis
  • Archery
  • Wheelchair rugby
  • Volleyball
  • Sailing
  • Swimming
• Paralympic Winter Games sports;
  • Alpine skiing
  • Biathlon
  • Skateboarding
  • Wheelchair curling
  • Sledding
  • Ice hockey

We talked about the history of this international event on the question of what is the Paralympic Games, in which disabled athletes compete, which is now one of the largest sports organizations in the world. You can share your thoughts about the Paralympic Games in the comments.