The IAADS World Athletics Championships is an annual global athletics competition for athletes with Down syndrome, organised by the International Athletics Association for Persons with Down Syndrome (IAADS).
The competition was established in 2010, two years after the founding of the international body.Sports. Sports Union for athletes with Down syndrome. Retrieved 2019-08-05. It was created to enable athletes with Down syndrome to compete for world titles in track and field, following the exclusion of intellectual disability categories by the International Paralympic Committee. Though learning disability events were restored at the Summer Paralympic Games, there was no category specifically for Down syndrome – this effectively excluded the athletes, who were forced to compete against other intellectually disabled athletes who did not have the physical impairments that are typical of the condition.People with Down’s syndrome are being let down by the Paralympics. Scotsman (2016-11-23). Retrieved 2019-08-05.Mission. IAADS. Retrieved 2019-08-05.Elise Lantz & Anne Marcellini (2018). Sports games for people with intellectual disabilities. Institutional analysis of an unusual international configuration, Sport in Society, 21:4, 635-648, DOI: 10.1080/17430437.2016.1273612.
The global competition was complemented by the regional IAADS European Athletics Championships from 2011 onwards.Events. IAADS. Retrieved 2019-08-05.
Editions #YearCountryCity 1 20101st IAADS World Championships. IAADS. Retrieved 2019-08-05. Mexico Puerto Vallarta 2 20122nd IAADS World Championships. IAADS. Retrieved 2019-08-05. Portugal Azores 3 20143rd IAADS World Athletics Championships. IAADS. Retrieved 2019-08-05. South Africa Bloemfontein 4 20164th IAADS World Athletics Championships. IAADS. Retrieved 2019-08-05. Italy Florence 5 20185th IAADS Down Syndrome World Athletics Championships. IAADS. Retrieved 2019-08-05. Portugal Funchal 6 2022 Czech Republic Nymburk 7 20247th IAADS Down Syndrome World Athletics Championships Results #1. IAADS. Retrieved 2026-08-23.7th IAADS Down Syndrome World Athletics Championships Results #2. IAADS. Retrieved 2026-08-23. Turkey Antalya 8 20268th IAADS Down Syndrome World Athletics Championships Results. dsbulgaria.com. Retrieved 2026-08-23. Bulgaria Sofia
See also World Deaf Athletics Championships
References