Paralympic Games: All You Need to Know about Paralympics Games

The “Paralympic” name is related to the Paralympic Games. As, games are a multi-sport event for athletes with mental, physical, and sensorial disabilities. This includes physical disabilities, amputees, learning disability and those with impairment. The Paralympic Games are always following the Olympic Games, and it is governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

The Paralympic Games is a big international multi-sport event, which involves athletes with a wide range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power, the impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, leg length difference, short stature, vision impairment, and intellectual impairment.

Paralympic Games History

• The first person who is a great athlete to be part of this was German American gymnast George Eyser in 1904, that person had one artificial leg.
• The first well-organized athletic day for disabled athletes that overlapped with the Olympic Games was held on the day of the opening ceremony of the 1948 Summer Olympics games in London, United Kingdom.
• Afterwards so many similar events were organized in various countries, and people start taking part in it as sports become sunshine into their lives.
• The name of Paralympics was driven from the Greek word “Para” which means alongside, and that’s why it is to be held alongside the Olympic Games.

The conventional view of disability over the past times was a medical one, where the individual was seen as ill and their prevailing condition was a problem with the person. An insight of disability is also based on fear of difference and an observed need to be “normal.”

All these negative views as good thoughts influenced the way people cooperated with individuals with disabilities and these things impacted the way people those who are with disabilities saw their roles and positions in the society, including their involvement in sports activities. People with disabilities are usually less confined by their disability rather than by society which always hinders the growth of any individual.

Paralympics is such a platform where people have to change their thinking regarding a person with a disability. Every particular individual has the right to take part in any games at any time; this is the platform where one can raise their levels in society.

Achievements in Paralympics Games

• The portrayal of positive life stories is the only way of changing negative views, as was the same case as the British. He was a wheelchair tennis player Lucy Shuker. Paralympics become an essential medium for changing societal perceptions.
• As Paralympians receive more medals, they seem to be the superheroes of the world. They are also praised by society for their achievements. Sport provides many benefits for those involved.
• One of the students from the University of the Sunshine Coast’s student and swimmer Blake Cochrane, they have a world record and two gold medals from the London Paralympics, and also won a silver medal in Rio recently. He becomes the first person who wins back-to-back university sportsperson of the year awards.
• Another well-known swimmer, Ellie Simmonds she was from Britain, received an OBE for her so many achievements in Paralympic sport.
• There is one example, Natalie du Toit and Australia’s own Melissa Tapper. Melissa is currently striving to gain in Rio and is the becomes first Australian who has competed in both games. Abdellatif Baka of Algeria, who won in a new Paralympic and Olympic world record time.

Paralympic Games are showcases athletes at the pinnacle of the sport, yet is it a reminder that sport at the highest level should be accessible to all people.

List of Paralympic Games held in the following Places and Year

Winter Paralympic Games

Summer Paralympic Games

The categories shown below can apply for both summer and winter Paralympics.

Amputee: The athletes of this impairment have partial or total loss of at least one limb.

Cerebral Palsy: The athletes with non-progressive brain damage, like cerebral palsy, stroke, traumatic brain injury or another kind of similar disabilities which affecting the muscle control, balance or coordination comes into this category.

Intellectual Disability: Athletes with a notable impairment in functioning and associated limitations in adaptive behaviour (currently it is suspended.)

Wheelchair: this category of Athletes who have spinal cord injuries and other disabilities which need to only compete in a wheelchair.

Visually Impaired: this category includes Athletes with vision impairment which ranging from partial vision, enough to be adjudged legally blind, up to total blindness.

The athletes with a disability do not fall strictly under any one of the other five categories like multiple sclerosis, dwarfism, etc.

Paralympics is the best platform for a person with a disability. There is a lot of achievements by various athletes in every Paralympic games. There are so many examples in this world that excel and achieve a lot of things in their life just by keeping a positive attitude. It helps to motivate every next person who thinks they are of no use in this world. They have a lot of options nowadays where they can perform and gain achievements in their life as an average person even can’t imagine. A positive attitude in life is always important to achieve something better in life. If a person always follows society one cannot imagine going move off out of the house. Always listen to advice but do what the particular person wants to do in their life. Success comes to those who have the will and dare. ”Success and luck are always for the bravest.”