Athletics at the Summer Paralympics facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Athletics at the Summer Paralympics |
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| Governing body | IPC |
| Events | 160 (men: 100; women: 60) |
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Para-athletics is a super exciting sport at the Summer Paralympics. It has been part of every Summer Paralympic Games since they first started in 1960. Athletes of all genders and with different types of disabilities compete in this sport.
Some athletes use special wheelchairs to race. Others use prosthetic limbs to help them run or jump. They compete on their own, using their amazing strength and skill.
Athletes who cannot see well, called visually impaired athletes, run with a sighted guide. They are connected by a small rope called a tether. For throwing or jumping events, special sounds or a person calling out directions help them know where to aim or take off.
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What is Para-athletics?
Para-athletics is like regular track and field, but it's made fair for athletes with different disabilities. Athletes are grouped into "classes" based on their disability. This makes sure everyone competes against others with similar abilities. Almost all the events you see in the regular Olympics are also available in the Paralympics!
In the very first Paralympic Games in 1960, Italy won the most medals in athletics. From 1964 to 1996, the United States was the strongest team. Then, in 2000, Australia took the lead when the games were held in their home country. Since 2004, China has been the top country in Para-athletics.
Paralympic Games Highlights
Here is a quick look at how Para-athletics has grown over the years at the Paralympics.
| Games | Year | Events | Best Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1960 | 25 |  Italy |
| 2 | 1964 | 42 |  United States |
| 3 | 1968 | 70 | United States |
| 4 | 1972 | 73 | United States |
| 5 | 1976 | 208 | United States |
| 6 | 1980 | 274 | United States |
| 7 | 1984 | 443 | United States |
| 8 | 1988 | 333 | United States |
| 9 | 1992 | 240 | United States |
| 10 | 1996 | 211 | United States |
| 11 | 2000 | 234 |  Australia |
| 12 | 2004 | 194 |  China |
| 13 | 2008 | 160 | China |
| 14 | 2012 | 170 | China |
| 15 | 2016 | 177 | China |
| 16 | 2020 | 168 | China |
| 17 | 2024 | 164 | China |
How Athletes are Grouped (Classification)
Athletes are put into different groups, or "classes," so they compete fairly. These groups are based on their physical abilities and how their disability affects their performance. For example, some classes are for athletes with visual impairments, while others are for those who use wheelchairs. There are also classes for athletes with limb differences or other physical challenges. This system makes sure that the competition is always exciting and fair for everyone.
Medal Wins in Para-athletics
The United States has won the most medals in Para-athletics over the years. Great Britain and Canada are also very strong competitors.
Top Medal-Winning Countries
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States (USA) |
390 | 383 | 335 | 1,108 |
| 2 |  Great Britain (GBR) |
205 | 163 | 186 | 554 |
| 3 |  Canada (CAN) |
199 | 165 | 164 | 528 |
| 4 | China (CHN) |
187 | 149 | 100 | 436 |
| 5 | Australia (AUS) |
155 | 162 | 165 | 482 |
| 6 |  West Germany (FRG) |
140 | 125 | 121 | 386 |
| 7 |  Poland (POL) |
117 | 107 | 90 | 314 |
| 8 |  Spain (ESP) |
82 | 69 | 61 | 212 |
| 9 |  France (FRA) |
74 | 86 | 77 | 237 |
| 10 | Germany (GER) |
70 | 96 | 106 | 272 |
| 11 |  South Africa (RSA) |
70 | 55 | 54 | 179 |
| 12 |  Switzerland (SUI) |
67 | 68 | 61 | 196 |
| 13 |  Mexico (MEX) |
64 | 64 | 68 | 196 |
| 14 |  Japan (JPN) |
60 | 66 | 54 | 180 |
| 15 |  Sweden (SWE) |
55 | 48 | 34 | 137 |
| 16 | Italy (ITA) |
53 | 58 | 67 | 178 |
| 17 |  Belgium (BEL) |
53 | 46 | 34 | 133 |
| 18 |  Brazil (BRA) |
51 | 73 | 54 | 178 |
| 19 |  Finland (FIN) |
46 | 64 | 53 | 163 |
| 20 |  Austria (AUT) |
43 | 62 | 65 | 170 |
| 21 |  Russia (RUS) |
43 | 30 | 21 | 94 |
| 22 |  Tunisia (TUN) |
42 | 39 | 23 | 104 |
| 23 |  New Zealand (NZL) |
40 | 32 | 29 | 101 |
| 24 |  Ukraine (UKR) |
38 | 55 | 44 | 137 |
| 25 |  Ireland (IRL) |
38 | 39 | 63 | 140 |
| 26 |  Netherlands (NED) |
36 | 48 | 45 | 129 |
| 27 |  Iran (IRI) |
36 | 30 | 28 | 94 |
| 28 |  Denmark (DEN) |
36 | 24 | 17 | 77 |
| 29 |  Israel (ISR) |
35 | 37 | 39 | 111 |
| 30 |  Cuba (CUB) |
34 | 16 | 17 | 67 |
| 31 |  Norway (NOR) |
27 | 29 | 26 | 82 |
| 32 |  Egypt (EGY) |
25 | 27 | 35 | 87 |
| 33 |  Algeria (ALG) |
23 | 22 | 30 | 75 |
| 34 |  South Korea (KOR) |
21 | 16 | 17 | 54 |
| 35 |  Soviet Union (URS) |
21 | 9 | 6 | 36 |
| 36 |  Kenya (KEN) |
18 | 14 | 14 | 46 |
| 37 |  Portugal (POR) |
17 | 14 | 21 | 52 |
| 38 |  Thailand (THA) |
16 | 16 | 14 | 46 |
| 39 |  Morocco (MAR) |
16 | 11 | 9 | 36 |
| 40 |  Argentina (ARG) |
15 | 33 | 31 | 79 |
| 41 |  Czech Republic (CZE) |
15 | 19 | 18 | 52 |
| 42 |  Jamaica (JAM) |
14 | 8 | 13 | 35 |
| 43 |  Nigeria (NGR) |
14 | 3 | 4 | 21 |
| 44 |  RPC (RPC) |
12 | 13 | 13 | 38 |
| 45 |  Kuwait (KUW) |
11 | 16 | 16 | 43 |
| 46 |  Unified Team (EUN) |
11 | 10 | 7 | 28 |
| 47 |  Belarus (BLR) |
10 | 17 | 20 | 47 |
| 48 |  Yugoslavia (YUG) |
10 | 11 | 16 | 37 |
| 49 |  Colombia (COL) |
8 | 7 | 21 | 36 |
| 50 |  Hong Kong (HKG) |
8 | 7 | 17 | 32 |
| 51 |  Uzbekistan (UZB) |
8 | 3 | 5 | 16 |
| 52 |  Azerbaijan (AZE) |
7 | 7 | 8 | 22 |
| 53 |  Greece (GRE) |
6 | 17 | 24 | 47 |
| 54 |  India (IND) |
5 | 14 | 7 | 26 |
| 55 |  Lithuania (LTU) |
5 | 9 | 12 | 26 |
| 56 |  Bulgaria (BUL) |
5 | 8 | 3 | 16 |
| 57 |  Latvia (LAT) |
5 | 5 | 8 | 18 |
| 58 |  Croatia (CRO) |
4 | 6 | 14 | 24 |
| 59 |  Rhodesia (RHO) |
4 | 5 | 5 | 14 |
| 60 |  Angola (ANG) |
4 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
 Serbia (SRB) |
4 | 3 | 1 | 8 | |
| 62 |  Czechoslovakia (TCH) |
4 | 2 | 6 | 12 |
| 63 |  Malaysia (MAS) |
4 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 64 |  Hungary (HUN) |
3 | 10 | 6 | 19 |
| 65 |  Venezuela (VEN) |
3 | 7 | 9 | 19 |
| 66 |  Panama (PAN) |
3 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| 67 |  Ivory Coast (CIV) |
3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
 Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) |
3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 69 |  Slovenia (SLO) |
2 | 4 | 5 | 11 |
| 70 |  Namibia (NAM) |
2 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 71 |  Bahrain (BRN) |
2 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| 72 |  Iraq (IRQ) |
2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
 Myanmar (MYA) |
2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | |
 Zimbabwe (ZIM) |
2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | |
| 75 |  Slovakia (SVK) |
2 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| 76 |  Chile (CHI) |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 Chinese Taipei (TPE) |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 78 |  United Arab Emirates (UAE) |
1 | 6 | 6 | 13 |
| 79 |  Iceland (ISL) |
1 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| 80 |  Indonesia (INA) |
1 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| 81 |  Jordan (JOR) |
1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| 82 |  Estonia (EST) |
1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 83 |  Puerto Rico (PUR) |
1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
 Saudi Arabia (KSA) |
1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |
| 85 |  Ethiopia (ETH) |
1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 86 |  Pakistan (PAK) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 87 |  Costa Rica (CRC) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Independent Paralympic Participants (IPP) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 89 |  Sri Lanka (SRI) |
1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 90 |  Ecuador (ECU) |
1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 91 |  Botswana (BOT) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Dominican Republic (DOM) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 Fiji (FIJ) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 Sudan (SUD) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 95 |  East Germany (GDR) |
0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 96 |  Bahamas (BAH) |
0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 97 |  Luxembourg (LUX) |
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 98 |  Cyprus (CYP) |
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 99 |  Palestine (PLE) |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 100 |  Malta (MLT) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Uganda (UGA) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 102 |  Papua New Guinea (PNG) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 103 |  Cape Verde (CPV) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Moldova (MDA) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Mozambique (MOZ) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Oman (OMA) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Peru (PER) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Qatar (QAT) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Rwanda (RWA) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Serbia and Montenegro (SCG) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Turkey (TUR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Uruguay (URU) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Vietnam (VIE) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (113 entries) | 2,986 | 2,932 | 2,811 | 8,729 | |
Athletes with Many Medals
Many athletes have won multiple medals in Para-athletics. Some of the most successful include Omara Durand from Cuba, who has won 10 gold medals in running events. Hannah Cockroft from Great Britain is another amazing athlete with 8 gold medals in wheelchair racing. These athletes show incredible dedication and talent!
Events in Para-athletics
Para-athletics includes many of the same events you see in regular track and field. These are adapted to fit the different athlete classifications.
Running Events
Athletes compete in various running races, from short sprints to long-distance marathons.
- 100 metres
- 200 metres
- 400 metres
- 800 metres
- 1500 metres
- 5000 metres
- Marathon
- 4×100metres relay (team races)
Jumping and Throwing Events
Just like in other athletics, there are events where athletes jump or throw objects.
- High jump
- Long jump
- Shot put
- Discus throw
- Javelin throw
- Club throw
Countries Competing in Para-athletics
Many countries from all over the world send athletes to compete in Para-athletics at the Summer Paralympics. Over the years, the number of countries and athletes participating has grown a lot, showing how popular and important this sport has become globally.
See also
In Spanish: Atletismo en los Juegos Paralímpicos para niños
