2013 IPC Athletics World Championships facts for kids

The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships was a huge sports event for athletes with disabilities. It was held in Lyon, France, from July 20 to 28. About 1,100 athletes from 94 different countries came to compete. The games took place at the Stade du Rhône, which is inside the Parc de Parilly in Vénissieux, a part of Lyon Metropolis.

Where the Games Took Place

The Championship was held at the Stade du Rhône in the Parc de Parilly. This stadium used to be called Stade Parilly. It was updated in 2012 and officially reopened with its new name on September 3, 2012.

How the Competition Worked

The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships was a special event for track and field sports. It did not include combined sports like the pentathlon. About 1,300 spots were open for countries linked with the IPC (International Paralympic Committee). In the end, 94 countries sent 1,073 athletes who met the sports rules.

Out of the 1,300 spots, 900 were for male athletes and 400 for female athletes. No country could send more than 55 male athletes and 25 female athletes. Also, only three athletes per event were allowed, except for marathons where six could enter. For events that mixed different disability classes (like F54/55/56 javelin), five athletes could join. All events, except marathons, happened at the Stade du Rhône.

Not all events were open to every disability class. Some throwing and jumping events had different classes competing together. The winner was decided using a special points system. The men's 100m relay was the only event that used mixed classes in one team. Each part of the relay was run by an athlete from a different disability class. There were no women's relay events. In total, 207 events were held across 17 different sports.

Winning Medals

Athletes who finished first won a gold medal. Those in second place received a silver medal, and third place got a bronze. If there were only three athletes competing in an event, no bronze medal was given out.

Watching the Championships

The International Paralympic Committee showed the games live on its website. They also had live coverage, videos of events, and interviews on their ParalympicSportTV channel on YouTube.

In France, the TV channel France 4 showed two hours of the games every evening. This was after people had said that French TV didn't show enough of the 2012 Summer Paralympics.

In the United Kingdom, Channel 4's sister channel More4 broadcast over five hours of live coverage each day. This showed Channel 4's promise to keep showing sports for people with disabilities until at least 2016.

Event Details

Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony took place at Stade du Rhone on Friday, July 19. Spectators enjoyed a show celebrating Lyon's history and culture. This included a historical re-enactment. After that, athletes from the 90 participating countries marched into the stadium.

Speeches were given by Gérard Masson, who was the President of the organizing committee, and Sir Philip Craven, the IPC President. Before France's national anthem played, Master Corporal Thomas Brun, a soldier injured in the Afghanistan war, passed the French flag to French athletes who would compete in the 2014 Winter Paralympics.

Understanding Classifications

To make sure competitions are fair, athletes are grouped into 'classes'. This depends on how their disability affects their chosen sport. So, athletes might compete against others with different disabilities. When an event has more than one class (like discus throw F54/55/56), a points system is used to find the winner.

Here's what the letters and numbers mean:

• F = field athletes (for throwing and jumping events)
• T = track athletes (for running races)
• 11-13 – visually impaired athletes. Those in classes 11 and 12 compete with a sighted guide.
• 20 – athletes with an intellectual disability.
• 31-38 – athletes with cerebral palsy or other conditions that affect muscle movement. Athletes in classes 31-34 compete sitting down. Athletes in classes 35-38 compete standing up.
• 41-46 – athletes with amputation or other conditions that affect their limbs.
• 51-58 – athletes who use wheelchairs.

Competition Schedule

The final of the men's T52 200m sprint.

Top Athletes and Records

Day 1 Highlights (July 20)

Brazil's Odair Santos won the T11 5,000m, taking the world title. Morocco's El Amin Chentouf set a new competition record in the T12 5,000m. Ukraine started strong with three gold medals. Roman Pavlyk broke the T36 long jump world record with a distance of 5.44m. Maciej Lepiato of Poland broke his own world record in the T44 high jump. Other world records were set in throwing events by Mohsen Kaedi (Iran) and Aled Davies (Great Britain).

Marcel Hug of Switzerland won his first medal, taking gold in the T54 10,000m. The USA team showed strength in qualifiers. Tatyana McFadden won her T54 heats, setting a personal best and a championship record. Jarryd Wallace set a world record in the T44 200m sprint qualifier. Liu Fuliang of China won the T46 long jump. Britain's Hannah Cockroft won the T34 200m sprint.

Day 2 Highlights (July 21)

The USA won five gold medals on Day 2. Tatyana McFadden won two golds in the T54 200m and 5000m. Raymond Martin set a Championship record in the T52 800m. Jarryd Wallace broke his own world record in the T44 200m. Luis Felipe Gutiérrez won Cuba's first gold in the T13 long jump. Leonardo Diaz set a world record in the F54/55/56 discus throw. Japan's Atsushi Yamamoto won the T42 long jump.

Ukraine continued their success with three more golds. Mariia Pomazan set a new world record in the F35/36 discus. Poland also had double success. World records were set by Britain's Josie Pearson in discus and Michael McKillop of Ireland in the T37 800m. Jason Smyth equaled his own world record in the T13 200m. Brazil's Alan Oliveira set a world record in the T43 200m.

Day 3 Highlights (July 22)

France won its first gold medal when Mandy Francois-Elie won the T37 200m final. Russia moved up the medal table with five gold medals. Four of their athletes broke world records: Andrey Vdovin (100m T37), Evgenii Shvetcov (100m T36), Maria Bogacheva (shot put F54), and Egor Sharov (800m T12). Alexey Ashapatov set a Championship record in discus. Germany's Sebastian Dietz also broke a world record in discus.

Algeria won two gold medals, including a world record for Mohamed Berrahal in discus. In long jump, Karolina Kucharczyk of Poland set a world record. Martina Caironi of Italy won the T42 long jump. Italy also won a third gold with Oxana Corso setting a world record in the 100m T35. Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli gave Malaysia its first medal. Finland also had a good day with a gold from Toni Piispanen.

Brazil continued to impress with two more track golds from Verônica Hipólito and Yohansson Nascimento. Great Britain also won golds with Hannah Cockroft, Hollie Arnold, and Paul Blake. In the T44 100m qualifiers, Richard Browne broke Jonnie Peacock's world record, setting up an exciting final.

Day 4 Highlights (July 23)

In shot put, Aigars Apinis of Latvia equaled a world record. Nikita Prokhorov also broke his own world record. Germany had more success in throwing events. Aled Davies (Britain) won in discus. Anibal Bello won Venezuela's first gold. Estela Salas won Mexico's second.

In jumping events, Iris Pruysen of the Netherlands won the T44 long jump. Nikol Rodomakina (Russia) set a personal best to win. Ukraine's Dmytro Prudinkov took the T20 long jump title.

On the track, Russia won the Men's 4 × 100 m Relay. The USA's Tatyana McFadden secured her third gold with a world record in the T54 800m. Raymond Martin won the T52 100m sprint. Jonnie Peacock won the T44 final against Richard Browne. Alan Oliveira won his second gold in the T43 100m. Brazil also won more golds with Odair Santos and Terezinha Guilhermina. Other wins went to Min Jae Jeon of South Korea and Zhou Hongzhuan of China.

Day 5 Highlights (July 24)

Russia continued winning track events. Evgenii Shvetcov won the T36 200m, and Andrey Vdovin broke a world record in the T37 200m. Atrem Arefyev also broke a world record in the 1500m. Australia's Evan O'Hanlon won his second gold in the T38 200m.

France entered the top twenty in medals with two golds. Mandy Francois-Elie won her second title in the T37 100m. Tony Falelavaki won in the F44 Javelin. Marcel Hug (Switzerland) continued his dominance, winning the 5000m. Ireland's Michael McKillop collected his second gold. Walid Ktila of Tunisia won the T34 100m. Brent Lakatos of Canada won the 200m title.

World records continued to fall. Markus Rehm of Germany set a new distance in the T44 men's long jump. 16-year-old British sprinter Sophie Hahn set a record time in the T38 100m. Two world records were also set in women's throwing events by Maroua Ibrahmi and Assunta Legnente.

Day 6 Highlights (July 25)

Alan Oliveira leads in the T44 400 m qualifiers on Day 6 of the Championships.

Day 6 began with Michelle Stilwell of Canada setting a world record in the T52 800m. Iran's Peyman Nasiri Bazanjani won his country's first track medal. Algeria collected two gold medals in the 1500m races with Samir Nouioua and Abdellatif Baka, both earning their second golds. Odair Santos won his third gold for Brazil. Tatyana McFadden claimed her fourth and fifth golds in the T54 100m and 1500m. In the T54 1500m, Japan's Wakako Tsuchida and Switzerland's Edith Wolf tied for silver. Other multiple gold medal winners included Walid Ktila (Tunisia), Huang Lisha (China), and Jason Smyth (Ireland).

In throwing events, four new world records were set. Hania Aidi of Tunisia set a record in javelin. Lahouari Bahlaz of Algeria secured gold in club throw. Ukrainian Mariia Pomazan threw a record in discus. British athlete Scott Jones set a world record in shot put.

In women's long jump, Isle Hayes from South Africa set a championship record. Oksana Zubkovska of Ukraine also set a championship record in the T12 long jump.

Day 7 Highlights (July 26)

Heinrich Popow (left) before the T42 100m final on Day 7 which he drew with Scott Reardon (right).

Two world records were broken and one was equaled on Day 7. Vladimir Sviridov of Russia equaled a world record in shot put. Chermen Kobesov of Russia set a world record in the T37 400m. Alphanso Cunningham gave Jamaica its first gold with a world record in javelin.

Jamaica was one of five countries to win their first gold medal. Syria won a gold with Mohamed Mohamed. Ihar Fartunau of Belarus won the T13 high jump. Chiang Chih-Chung of Chinese Taipei won in javelin. Austria's first gold was won by Gunther Matzinger in the T46 400m.

Marcel Hug won his third gold in the T54 1,500m. Birgit Kober of Germany became a double gold medalist. Xia Dong of China set a Championship record in shot put. Australia won golds with Evan O'Hanlon and Scott Reardon. Scott Reardon shared the T42 100m title with German rival Heinrich Popow after a close race.

Day 8 Highlights (July 27)

American wheelchair racer Tatyana McFadden became the most successful athlete, winning her sixth gold medal in the 400m T54. Raymond Martin also won his fifth gold, winning every event he entered. Other USA golds came from Elexis Gillette in long jump, Cassie Mitchell in shot put, and a team medal in the men's 4 x 100 metres relay, setting a new world record. Canada won the men's 4 x 400 metres relay, and Russia won the men's 4 x 100 metres relay.

Russia continued their gold medal success. Nikita Prokhorov won in discus, and Evgeniya Trushnikova won the T37 400m, both setting tournament records. Russia also won golds with Egor Sharov and Elena Pautova. Two new world records were set by Marta Prokofyeva in shot put and Dmitrii Safronov in the T35 200m. Two more world records were broken by Algerian athletes: Nassima Saifi in discus and Lahouari Bahlaz in discus.

Azerbaijan won its first gold with Vladimir Zayets in triple jump. Namibia also won its first gold with Nambala Johannes in the T13 400m. Walid Ktila won his fourth gold medal. There were second gold medals for Zhou Hongzhuan (China), Marlou van Rhijn (Netherlands), Martina Caironi (Italy), and Oxana Corso (Italy). Michelle Stilwell of Canada added the T52 200m to her other titles.

Day 9 Highlights (July 28)

The final day featured five marathon events. In the women's T54 marathon, Switzerland's Manuela Schär won. Switzerland also won the men's T54 marathon with Marcel Hug, who took his fifth gold medal.

Chile won its first gold medal when Cristian Valenzuela won the T11 marathon. Italy's Alessandro Di Lello took gold in the T46 marathon. The T12 marathon was won by Paralympic champion El Amin Chentouf of Morocco.

Participating Countries

Here is a list of the countries that took part in the Championships and how many athletes they planned to send:

Images for kids

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  Colombia's Maritza Arango Buitrago (0331) leads Ireland's Amanda Crotty (0587) in the semi-final of the T12 1500m.

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  Claudiney Batista dos Santos of Brazil in the T56/57 shot put

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  Ihar Fartunau of Belarus in the T13 high jump

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  Multiple medallist Mandy François-Elie was France's most successful athlete of the Championships, winning gold in both the 100m and 200m T37 sprints.