Swimming at the Summer Paralympics facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Swimming at the Summer Paralympics |
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| Governing body | IPC |
| Events | 147 (men: 82; women: 65) |
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Swimming is a very important sport at every Summer Paralympics. It has been part of the games right from the start in 1960. Back then, there were 62 swimming races. These races were 25 and 50 meters long, and there was also a 3x50 meter relay race for men.
Over the years, swimming at the Paralympics has grown a lot! Now, there are about 140 different swimming events. These events cover distances from 50 meters all the way up to 400 meters. There are also 4x50 and 4x100 meter relay races. Swimming is one of the biggest sports at the Paralympics, along with track and field athletics. Many athletes compete, and lots of people come to watch.
Just like in most Paralympic sports, athletes are grouped together. This grouping is based on their disability, so competitions are fair. The International Paralympic Committee keeps track of the fastest times in these races. These fast times are known as Paralympic records.
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How Swimming Grew at the Paralympics
Swimming has been a core sport since the very first Paralympic Games in 1960. In those early games, there were fewer events. For example, in 1960, Italy was the best nation in swimming. As the years went by, more and more events were added.
By the 1976 Games, the number of swimming events had more than doubled! The Netherlands was a strong swimming nation in the 1970s and 1980s. Later, countries like the USA and China became very successful in Paralympic swimming. The sport continues to be a highlight at every Summer Paralympics.
Medal Winners in Paralympic Swimming
Countries compete to win the most medals in swimming at the Paralympics. Medals are given for gold (first place), silver (second place), and bronze (third place). The United States has won the most swimming medals overall. Great Britain and the Netherlands have also won many medals. China has become a very strong country in recent Paralympic Games.
Here is a table showing how many medals different countries have won in Paralympic swimming, up to the 2020 Summer Paralympics. Some countries listed here, like West Germany (FRG) or Rhodesia (RHO), are no longer separate countries.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (USA) |
284 | 214 | 224 | 722 |
| 2 |  Great Britain (GBR) |
230 | 257 | 238 | 725 |
| 3 |  Netherlands (NED) |
186 | 133 | 116 | 435 |
| 4 |  Canada (CAN) |
166 | 126 | 125 | 417 |
| 5 |  Australia (AUS) |
143 | 172 | 172 | 487 |
| 6 |  China (CHN) |
139 | 125 | 105 | 369 |
| 7 |  France (FRA) |
120 | 107 | 108 | 335 |
| 8 |  Poland (POL) |
117 | 115 | 86 | 318 |
| 9 |  Spain (ESP) |
111 | 125 | 118 | 354 |
| 10 |  Sweden (SWE) |
111 | 125 | 84 | 320 |
| 11 |  Ukraine (UKR) |
83 | 80 | 80 | 243 |
| 12 |  West Germany (FRG) |
76 | 67 | 58 | 201 |
| 13 |  Norway (NOR) |
72 | 51 | 40 | 163 |
| 14 | Germany (GER) |
61 | 73 | 61 | 195 |
| 15 |  Israel (ISR) |
61 | 58 | 50 | 169 |
| 16 |  Italy (ITA) |
49 | 65 | 58 | 172 |
| 17 |  Japan (JPN) |
41 | 30 | 41 | 112 |
| 18 |  Brazil (BRA) |
40 | 39 | 46 | 125 |
| 19 |  Denmark (DEN) |
37 | 37 | 65 | 139 |
| 20 |  South Africa (RSA) |
34 | 25 | 27 | 86 |
| 21 |  Russia (RUS) |
33 | 26 | 33 | 92 |
| 22 |  New Zealand (NZL) |
33 | 21 | 17 | 71 |
| 23 |  Mexico (MEX) |
31 | 17 | 28 | 76 |
| 24 |  Hungary (HUN) |
25 | 27 | 33 | 85 |
| 25 |  Belarus (BLR) |
25 | 12 | 6 | 43 |
| 26 |  Iceland (ISL) |
24 | 13 | 24 | 61 |
| 27 |  Austria (AUT) |
19 | 13 | 17 | 49 |
| 28 |  RPC (RPC) |
17 | 14 | 18 | 49 |
| 29 |  Argentina (ARG) |
14 | 26 | 24 | 64 |
| 30 |  Czech Republic (CZE) |
13 | 6 | 16 | 35 |
| 31 |  Rhodesia (RHO) |
12 | 13 | 11 | 36 |
| 32 |  Ireland (IRL) |
11 | 11 | 9 | 31 |
| 33 |  Greece (GRE) |
10 | 17 | 14 | 41 |
| 34 |  Finland (FIN) |
7 | 17 | 24 | 48 |
| 35 |  Unified Team (EUN) |
7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| 36 |  South Korea (KOR) |
7 | 2 | 5 | 14 |
| 37 |  Belgium (BEL) |
6 | 16 | 15 | 37 |
| 38 |  Azerbaijan (AZE) |
5 | 7 | 0 | 12 |
| 39 |  Jamaica (JAM) |
5 | 6 | 3 | 14 |
| 40 |  Singapore (SIN) |
5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 41 |  Colombia (COL) |
4 | 9 | 8 | 21 |
| 42 |  Yugoslavia (YUG) |
3 | 5 | 9 | 17 |
| 43 |  Cyprus (CYP) |
3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 44 |  Romania (ROM) |
3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 45 |  Switzerland (SUI) |
2 | 9 | 8 | 19 |
| 46 |  Estonia (EST) |
2 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
| 47 |  Uzbekistan (UZB) |
2 | 4 | 8 | 14 |
| 48 |  Slovakia (SVK) |
2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 49 |  Peru (PER) |
2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 50 |  Faroe Islands (FRO) |
1 | 7 | 5 | 13 |
| 51 |  Egypt (EGY) |
1 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 52 |  Thailand (THA) |
1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| 53 |  Cuba (CUB) |
1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 54 |  Chile (CHI) |
1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
 Luxembourg (LUX) |
1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 56 | Independent Paralympic Participants (IPP) |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 57 |  Hong Kong (HKG) |
1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 58 |  Kazakhstan (KAZ) |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 59 |  India (IND) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Kenya (KEN) |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 61 |  Soviet Union (URS) |
0 | 11 | 9 | 20 |
| 62 |  Portugal (POR) |
0 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 63 |  Zimbabwe (ZIM) |
0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 64 |  Uruguay (URU) |
0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 65 |  Kuwait (KUW) |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 66 |  Czechoslovakia (TCH) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Lithuania (LTU) |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 68 |  Bulgaria (BUL) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Vietnam (VIE) |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 70 |  Croatia (CRO) |
0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 71 |  Slovenia (SLO) |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 72 |  Bahamas (BAH) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Morocco (MAR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Turkey (TUR) |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (75 entries) | 2,504 | 2,371 | 2,306 | 7,181 | |
Top Paralympic Swimmers
Some swimmers have won many medals over several Paralympic Games. These athletes are truly amazing! They show incredible skill and determination. This table lists some of the top medal winners in Paralympic swimming, updated to the 2016 Paralympics.
| Athlete | Nation | Years Active | Class(es) | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trischa Zorn | United States |
1980 - 2004 | B1, B2, B3 | 41 | 9 | 4 | 54 |
| Béatrice Hess | France |
1984 - 2004 | S5 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 25 |
| Michael Edgson | Canada |
1984 - 1992 | B3 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Jessica Long | United States |
2004 - | S8, SB7, SM8 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 29 |
| Mike Kenny | Great Britain |
1976 - 1988 | 1A, 1C | 16 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| Ihar Boki | Belarus |
2012 - | S13, SB13, SM13 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| Mayumi Narita | Japan |
1996 - 2004 | SM4, S4, SB3, 20pts | 15 | 3 | 2 | 20 |
| Daniel Dias | Brazil |
2008 - 2016 | S5 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 27 |
| Erin Popovich | United States |
2000 - 2008 | S6, S7 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 19 |
| Matthew Cowdrey | Australia |
2004 - 2012 | S9 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 23 |
| Erling Trondsen | Norway |
1976 - 1992 | C1, A3, L4, S8, SM8 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 20 |
| Claudia Hengst | West Germany / Germany |
1988 - 2004 | L6, SM10 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 25 |
| Natalie du Toit | South Africa |
2004 - 2012 | S9 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 15 |
| John Morgan | United States |
1984 - 1992 | B1, B2 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 15 |
| Uri Bergman | Israel |
1976 - 1988 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| Sophie Pascoe | New Zealand |
2008 - | S10, SB9, SM10, S9, SM9 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 19 |
| David Roberts | Great Britain |
2000 - 2008 | S7 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 16 |
| Joseph Wengier | Israel |
1972 - 1988 | ? | 10 | 4 | 5 | 19 |
| Magdalena Tjernberg | Sweden |
1984 - 1988 | B1 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Elizabeth Scott | United States |
1992 - 2000 | B3? | 10 | 2 | 5 | 17 |
| Marijke Ruiter | Netherlands |
1972 - 1976 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Christopher Holmes | Great Britain |
1988 - 2000 | S12? | 9 | 5 | 1 | 15 |
| Priya Cooper | Australia |
1992 - 2000 | S8 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 16 |
| Jacqueline Freney | Australia |
2008 - 2012 | SM7, S7, S8, 34pts | 8 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
| Stephanie Dixon | Canada |
2000 - 2008 | S9 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 17 |
| Siobhan Paton | Australia |
2000 | S14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
See also
In Spanish: Natación en los Juegos Paralímpicos para niños
- Swimming at the Summer Olympics
- World Para Swimming Championships
