Classification is intended to group together athletes with similar levels of physical ability to allow fair competition.
People with physical, vision and intellectual disabilities are eligible to compete in this sport at the Summer Paralympics.
[6] At the 1992 Summer Games, athletics classification was governed by four different sporting bodies including the IBSA, ISOD, ISMWSF and the CP-ISRA.
[7] As of 2012[update], people with physical, vision, and intellectual disabilities are eligible to compete in this sport.
An example of classification in this period was L2 SCI, which was for competitors who had normal functioning except for lower limb paralysis.
These competitors would not compete in wheelchair races against double above the knee amputees because, while their functional disabilities were similar, their medical conditions were not.
[11] During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the classification system, set up as a series of "handicaps", was seen as problematic because in an effort to clearly describe a disability and promote fairness, the number of classifications made the organisation of competitive events difficult.
[16] In 1983, Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA) set eligibility rules for classification.
For their classification system, people with spina bifida were not eligible unless they had medical evidence of loco-motor dysfunction.
People with cerebral palsy and epilepsy were eligible provided the condition did not interfere with their ability to compete.
In some cases, one intellectual disability class existed with events broken down by age in order to allow equal competition for runners.
This came to a head at the November 1989 meeting of the Barcelona Olympics Organising Committee, when a discussion was started about what events and classifications should be eligible for the Games.
The local organising committee was insistent such a system be implemented to insure the sport at the Paralympic Games was serious and competitive, instead of recreational.
[32] Because of issues in objectively identifying functionality that plagued the post Barcelona Games, the IPC unveiled plans to develop a new classification system in 2003.
This classification system went into effect in 2007, and defined ten different disability types that were eligible to participate on the Paralympic level.
[4] In athletics, bilateral below the elbow amputations have a minimal impact on functional ability to run distances.
The first is for athletes who do not have access to a full classification panel; it is a temporary indication of class, used only in lower levels of competition.
[4] Only wheelchair classified athletes were eligible to compete at the 1960 Summer Paralympics in Rome in this sport.
[40] As demonstration sports, amputee and visually impaired classifications were allowed to compete in athletics for the first at time at 1972 Summer Paralympics.
Consequently, on the spot classification or re-classification, was viewed as a negative aspect for these Games and the Paralympic movement overall.
This policy was put into place in 2014, with the goal of avoiding last minute changes in classes that would negatively impact athlete training preparations.
All competitors needed to be internationally classified with their classification status confirmed prior to the Games, with exceptions to this policy being dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
[45] Disability sport's major classification body, the International Paralympic Committee, is working on improving classification to be more of an evidence-based system as opposed to a performance-based system so as not to punish elite athletes whose performance makes them appear in a higher class alongside competitors who train less.