Organizations

IPC • NPCs • Symbols Sports • Competitors Medal tables • Medalists

Games

Ancient Olympic Games Olympic Games Paralympic Games Summer Paralympic Games Winter Paralympic Games

Listen to this article · (info)

This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2012-01-01, and does not play the most recent changes to the article. (Audio help)

More spoken articles

The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, are a major international sports event. People with physical disabilities compete in these games. They are called Paralympians. They include people with disabilities that affect movement, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy.

There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games. They are held just after the Olympic Games. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

The Paralympics started as a small gathering of British World War II veterans in organised by Sir Ludwig Guttmann in 1948. ^[1]They became one of the largest international sport events by the early 21st century.

Paralympians have many different kinds of disabilities, so there are several categories in which they compete. The disabilities are in seven broad categories: amputee, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, wheelchair, visually impaired, and "the others". These categories are further broken down which vary from sport to sport.

Paralympians work for equal treatment with able-bodied Olympians. Olympians receive much more money than Paralympians. Some Paralympians have also participated in the Olympic Games.