Boccia has been contested at the Summer Paralympics since the 1984 Games in New York City and Stoke Mandeville.
This sport requires strategy and precision, and is similar to curling or French pétanque. It is played on a court 12.5 m by 6 m wide. Each team has 6 leather balls, and must bring them as close as possible to a white ball called a “jack”.
Five boccia events were held at those games, two for men, two for women, and one mixed event where men and women competed together. From 1988 until 2020, all boccia events at the Paralympics have been mixed. In 2024, separate events for men and women as individuals will be reintroduced, while pairs and team competition will remain mixed sex. Athletes in this sport have cerebral palsy and are given a classification according to the extent of their disability. There were originally two classes, C1 and C2, with C1 corresponding to those with more severe impairment. In 1996 a "C1 with aid device" class was added, and in 2000 the system was changed to have four classes, BC1 through BC4.
With the reintroduction of the separate sex classifications for individual play, the 2024 Paralympic Games will have the highest number of events in the history of the sport, eleven.
Summary GamesYear EventsBest Nation1 1960not held2 19643 19684 19725 19766 19787 1984 5 8 1988 3 9 1992 3 10 1996 5 11 2000 5 12 2004 7 13 2008 7 / 14 2012 7 15 2016 7 16 2020 7 17 2024 11
Events The table below gives the total number of boccia events and the disability classifications contested in individual, pairs, and team competition for each edition of the Summer Paralympics. All events were mixed unless noted otherwise.
Year Number of events Individual events Pairs events Team events 1984 5 Men's C1Men's C2Women's C1Women's C2 Open 1988 3 C1C2 C1–C2 1992 3 C1C2 C1–C2 1996 5 C1C1 with aid deviceC2 C1 with aid device C1–C2 2000 5 BC1BC2BC3 BC3 BC1–BC2 2004 7 BC1BC2BC3BC4 BC3BC4 BC1–BC2 2008 7 BC1BC2BC3BC4 BC3BC4 BC1–BC2 2012 7BC1 BC2
BC3
BC4BC3 BC4BC1-BC2 2016 7BC1 BC2
BC3
BC4BC3 BC4BC1-BC2 2020 7BC1 BC2
BC3
BC4BC3 BC4BC1-BC2202411Men's BC1Men's BC2Men's BC3Men's BC4Women's BC1Women's BC2Women's BC3Women's BC4BC3BC4BC1-BC2
Medal table Updated after the 2024 Summer Paralympics
Multi medalists Boccia players who have won two gold medals or five medals. Active players are in bold. No. Athlete Country Years Games Gender GoldSilverBronzeTotal1Dirceu Pinto2008-20163M41052Antonio Cid1992-20044M32162Jeong Ho-won2008-20204M32164David Smith2008-20204M31155João Paulo Fernandes2004-20082M31046Pattaya Tadtong2004-20163M30147Antonio Marques1988, 1996-2008, 20166M23278Eliseu dos Santos2008-20163M21259Grigorios Polychronidis2012-20244M133710Nigel Murray2000-20124M211411Henrik Jorgensen1984-1996, 20045M1326
Nations Nations 5 8 11 14 14 18 20 21 23 24 Competitors 19 34 42 64 64 84 88 103 106 106
References