The Paralympic Games a successful and great event. Today the mass media tell us about Formula 1, football championships, as well as about the Olympic Games. Millions of people know about them, they are waiting with impatience, they are fervently rooting for their compatriots at the competitions. However, not everyone knows what the Paralympics are. But the Paralympic Games program also includes everyone’s favorite sports: athletics, football, cycling, powerlifting, volleyball, and even basketball!
The Paralympic Games are held between people who have limited opportunities. All disabled people can take part in the competitions, except only those people who have problems with auditory perception.
A brief history of the Paralympic Games.
Competitions for people with disabilities, which eventually became known as the Paralympic Games, were held at the instigation of the outstanding neurosurgeon Ludwig Guttman (1899-1980).
The first Paralympic Games were held back in 1960 in Rome. By tradition, they were held immediately after the Olympic Games, in the same city. The second Paralympics were held in Tokyo. But in 1968, the city of Mexico, which at that time had Olympic competitions, categorically refused to host the Paralympians.
Since that time, the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been held in different cities. And only 20 years later, in 1988, it was decided to hold them again in one place.
In the decades that have passed since these competitions were first held, they have changed significantly. Of the competitions among 16 British wheelchair veterans of the Second World War, this competition has become one of the main sporting events of the planet. And the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London had a TV audience of 3.8 billion people.
The XVI Summer Paralympic Games are being held right now in Tokyo – they began on August 24 and will end on September 5, 2021. 4,400 athletes take part in 22 disciplines, who will compete for 539 awards.
The goal of the Paralympic Games.
The main goal of the Paralympics is to create all the necessary conditions for athletes with disabilities that will allow them to achieve sports skills so that they have the opportunity to inspire and delight the inhabitants of our planet.
The main task of the Paralympic movement is to introduce the idea of “equal opportunities” into society through sports.
Terms of participation in the Paralympic Games.
Every athlete who applies for participation in the Paralympic Games is required to undergo a special medical commission to establish the category of disability.
This procedure is carried out to achieve the most equal conditions of competition. People with equal physical abilities should compete with each other in a particular sport. As a result of a medical examination, an athlete is assigned a certain category. In some cases, participants are allowed to take assistants with them.
The sport of disabled people has gained worldwide significance, today it is more and more covered in the world sports news and “Sport 4 free” news. The achievements of athletes with physical disabilities are amazing. Sometimes they came close to Olympic records. In fact, there is not a single sport left, from the well-known and popular, in which disabled athletes did not take part.
