The Paralympic Games were created less than 100 years ago, for this very specific reason which has nothing to do with sport or disability.
After the Olympic Games and as has been the tradition for half a century, the Paralympic Games take over to thrill spectators and television viewers for around ten days. In France, in Paris, the Paralympic athletes hope to experience the same thrill and enthusiasm from the public as during the Olympic Games.
But do you know where the Paralympic Games originated? The roots of the Paralympic Games date back to the late 1940s. After World War II, a large number of veterans found themselves injured or disabled. Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, a German-born neurologist, moved to the United Kingdom and began using sport as a form of rehabilitation for these veterans at Stoke Mandeville Hospital near London.
Gradually, he brought his patients together to compete in new kinds of competitions. Eventually, an event was established, called the “World Wheelchair and Amputee Games.” As early as 1948, to coincide with the opening of the London Olympics, Guttmann organized the first “World Wheelchair Games,” which are often considered the precursors to the Paralympic Games.
The first “official” Games of this kind took place in 1960, in Rome, Italy, with 400 athletes from 23 countries, mainly competitors with spinal cord injuries. The rule of the time. The term “Paralympic” would also evolve over time, moving from the initial idea of ”paralyzed” to a broader connotation of “para”, meaning “alongside” in Greek, emphasizing that these games took place “alongside” the Olympic Games.
At the first Games in 1960, which were held under the name “9th Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games”, there were eight sports. Athletics was already present with running, throwing and jumping events. Wheelchair basketball was one of the most popular and iconic of the Paralympic Games. Wheelchair fencing, swimming, table tennis, archery, snooker and club throwing were the first sports at the Paralympic Games. The latter, designed for athletes with more severe physical disabilities, is similar to shot put, but with a lighter “club”.