The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. The 2028 Summer Paralympics will include 23 sports and 560 medal events, and the 2026 Winter Paralympics included 6 sports and 79 events. The number and kinds of events may change from one Paralympic Games to another.
The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities or intellectual impairments. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. Paralympic sports refers to organised competitive sporting activities as part of the global Paralympic movement. These sports are organised and run under the supervision of the International Paralympic Committee and other international sports federations.
History
Organised sport for persons with physical disabilities developed out of rehabilitation programs. Following World War II, in response to the needs of large numbers of injured ex-service members and civilians, sport was introduced as a key part of rehabilitation. Sport for rehabilitation grew into recreational sport and then into competitive sport. The pioneer of this approach was Ludwig Guttmann of the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. In 1948, while the Olympic Games were being held in London, England, he organised a sports competition for wheelchair athletes at Stoke Mandeville. This was the origin of the Stoke Mandeville Games, which evolved into the modern Paralympic Games.
Organisation
Globally, the International Paralympic Committee is recognized as the leading organisation, with direct governance of five sports, and responsibility over the Paralympic Games and other multi-sport, multi-disability events. Other international organisations, notably, the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA), Virtus Sport (formerly International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability) and World Abilitysport (formed in 2023 from a merger between the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation and the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association) govern some sports that are specific to certain disability groups. In addition, certain single-sport federations govern sports for athletes with a disability, either as part of an able-bodied sports federation such as the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), or as a disabled sports federation such as the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation.
At the national level, there are a wide range of organisations that take responsibility for Paralympic sport, including National Paralympic Committees, which are members of the IPC, and many others.
Disability categories
Athletes who participate in Paralympic sport are grouped into ten major categories, based on their type of disability:
Physical Impairment - There are eight different types of physical impairment recognised by the movement: Impaired muscle power - With impairments in this category, the force generated by muscles, such as the muscles of one limb, one side of the body or the lower half of the body is reduced, e.g. due to spinal-cord injury, spina bifida or polio. Impaired passive range of movement - Range of movement in one or more joints is reduced in a systematic way. Acute conditions such as arthritis are not included. Loss of limb or limb deficiency - A total or partial absence of bones or joints from partial or total loss due to illness, trauma, or congenital limb deficiency (e.g. dysmelia). Leg-length difference - Significant bone shortening occurs in one leg due to congenital deficiency or trauma. Short stature - Standing height is reduced due to shortened legs, arms and trunk, which are due to a musculoskeletal deficit of bone or cartilage structures. Hypertonia - Hypertonia is marked by an abnormal increase in muscle tension and reduced ability of a muscle to stretch. Hypertonia may result from injury, disease, or conditions which involve damage to the central nervous system (e.g. cerebral palsy). Ataxia - Ataxia is an impairment that consists of a lack of coordination of muscle movements (e.g. cerebral palsy, Friedreich's ataxia). Athetosis - Athetosis is generally characterised by unbalanced, involuntary movements and a difficulty maintaining a symmetrical posture (e.g. cerebral palsy, choreoathetosis).
Visual Impairment - Athletes with visual impairment ranging from partial vision, sufficient to be judged legally blind, to total blindness. This includes impairment of one or more component of the visual system (eye structure, receptors, optic nerve pathway, and visual cortex). The sighted guides for athletes with a visual impairment are such a close and essential part of the competition that the athlete with visual impairment and the guide are considered a team. Beginning in 2012, these guides (along with sighted goalkeepers in blind football became eligible to receive medals of their own.Visually impaired skiers put fate in guide's hands, thestar.com, March 13, 2010
Intellectual Disability - Athletes with a significant impairment in intellectual functioning and associated limitations in adaptive behaviour. The IPC primarily serves athletes with physical disabilities, but the disability group Intellectual Disability has been added to some Paralympic Games. This includes only elite athletes with intellectual disabilities diagnosed before the age of 18. However, the IOC-recognised Special Olympics World Games are open to all people with intellectual disabilities.Special Olympics and the Olympic Movement , Official website of the Special Olympics, 2006
The disability category determines who athletes compete against and which sports they participate in. Some sports are open to multiple disability categories (e.g. cycling), while others are restricted to only one (e.g. judo). In some sports athletes from multiple categories compete, but only within their category (e.g. athletics), while in others athletes from different categories compete against one another (e.g. swimming). Events in the Paralympics are commonly labelled with the relevant disability category, such as Men's Swimming Freestyle S1, indicating athletes with a severe physical impairment, or Ladies Table Tennis 11, indicating athletes with an intellectual disability.
Classification
A major component of Paralympic sport is classification. Classification provides a structure for competition which allows athletes to compete against others with similar disabilities or similar levels of physical function. It is similar in aim to the weight classes or age categories used in some non-disabled sports.
Athletes are classified through a variety of processes that depend on their disability group and the sport they are participating in. Evaluation may include a physical or medical examination, a technical evaluation of how the athlete performs certain sport-related physical functions, and observation in and out of competition. Each sport has its own specific classification system which factors into the rules for Paralympic competition in the sport.
Summer Paralympics
Sport Eligible impairments Governing body Paralympic Games status By years Physical Visual Intellectual 60646872768084889296000408121620242832 Current summer sportsArcheryWASummer sport (since 1960)812131218151897877999999AthleticsIPCSummer sport (since 1960)25427073208274443333240211226194160170177168164164BadmintonBWFSummer sport (since 2020) 141616Blind footballIBSASummer sport (since 2004) 1111111BocciaWorld BocciaSummer sport (since 1984) 53355777771111CanoeICFSummer sport (since 2016) 691010ClimbingWCSummer sport (to be added in 2028) 8Cycling: Track cyclingUCISummer sport (since 1996) 111516211817171717 Road cyclingUCISummer sport (since 1984) 779121215233233343434EquestrianFEISummer sport (since 1996) 12 999111111111111 FencingWorld AbilitysportSummer sport (since 1960)3710111417151414151515101214161616GoalballIBSASummer sport (since 1976) 11222222222222JudoIBSASummer sport (since 1988) 677713131313131616PowerliftingIPCSummer sport (since 1984) 7910102020202020202020RowingFISASummer sport (since 2008) 444455ShootingIPCSummer sport (since 1976) 311292316151212121212131313SwimmingIPCSummer sport (since 1960)69636856146193347257199169170167141148153146141142Table tennisITTFSummer sport (since 1960)111215192731393730283028242929313132TaekwondoWTSummer sport (since 2020) 61010TriathlonTRISummer sport (since 2016) 681112VolleyballWPVSummer sport (since 1976) 22222222222222Wheelchair basketball IWBFSummer sport (since 1960)222222222222222222 Wheelchair rugbyWWRSummer sport (since 2000) 11111111 Wheelchair tennisWorld TennisSummer sport (since 1992) 44466 6 6 6 6 6Discontinued summer sportsBasketball IDINAS-FIDSummer sport (2000) 1 DartcheryIPCSummer sport (1960–1980)333333 Football 7-a-sideCP-ISRASummer sport (1984–2016) 211111111 Lawn bowlsIPCSummer sport (1968–1988, 1996) 441619116 8 SailingIFDSSummer sport (2000–2016) 22333 SnookerIWASSummer sport (1960–1976, 1984–1988)11122 21 WeightliftingIPCSummer sport (1964–1992) 4466111575 WrestlingSummer sport (1980–1984) 109
Future summer sports On June 12, 2024, the organising committee for the 2028 Summer Paralympics in Los Angeles, announced they would propose Paraclimbing (a variation on sport climbing, which has been an Olympic sport since 2020). The IPC executive voted to approve the proposal during a meeting on June 26, 2024.
Winter Paralympics
Sport Eligible impairments Governing body Paralympic Games status By years Physical Visual Intellectual 1976808488929498200206101418222630Current winter sportsAlpine skiing FISWinter sport (since 1976) 2822564348665453243030303030 BiathlonIBUWinter sport (since 1988) 3410126121218181818 Cross-country skiingFISWinter sport (since 1976) 2527353827483932202020202020 Ice hockeyIPCWinter sport (since 1994) 11111111 SnowboardFISWinter sport (since 2014) 21088 Wheelchair curlingWorld CurlingWinter sport (since 2006) 1111112 Discontinued winter sportsIce sledge racingWinter Sport (1980–1988, 1994–1998) 141612 816
Possible future winter sports Bob Balk, the chairman of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletes' Council, launched a campaign in early 2012 to have sliding sports (bobsleigh, luge and skeleton) included at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
At the meeting in Madrid, Spain, on 10 and 11 September 2018, the IPC executive board announced that Para Bobsleigh had failed in some evaluation criteria and would not be part of the official program for the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games.
Abbreviations
Governing bodies: BWF — Badminton World Federation CP-ISRA — Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association IFDS — International Association for Disabled Sailing IBSA — International Blind Sports Federation (including Blind football, Goalball, Para judo) ICF — International Canoe Federation UCI — International Cycling Union FEI — International Federation for Equestrian Sports IPC — International Paralympic Committee (including Para athletics, Para ice hockey, Para powerlifting, Para swimming, shooting Para sport) FIS — International Ski and Snowboard Federation INAS-FID — International Sports Federation for Persons with an Intellectual Disability ITTF — International Table Tennis Federation IWAS — International Wheelchair and Amputee Sport Federation IWBF — International Wheelchair Basketball Federation — Virtus Sport — World Abilitysport (including Para fencing) WA — World Archery — World Boccia WC — World Climbing — World Curling WPV — World ParaVolley FISA — World Rowing Federation — World Tennis TRI — World Triathlon WWR — World Wheelchair Rugby
Notes
The categories listed represent all those groups that participate in this sport at some level. Not all these categories may be represented in competition at the Paralympic Games.