Paralympic sports

The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities or intellectual impairments.

Following World War II, in response to the needs of large numbers of injured ex-service members and civilians, sport was introduced as a key part of rehabilitation.

In 1948, while the Olympic Games were being held in London, England, he organized a sports competition for wheelchair athletes at Stoke Mandeville.

[7] However, the IOC-recognized Special Olympics World Games are open to all people with intellectual disabilities.

Some sports are open to multiple disability categories (e.g. cycling), while others are restricted to only one (e.g. Five-a-side football).

Events in the Paralympics are commonly labelled with the relevant disability category, such as Men's Swimming Freestyle S1, indicating athletes with a severe physical impairment, or Ladies Table Tennis 11, indicating athletes with an intellectual disability.

Bob Balk, the chairman of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletes' Council, launched a campaign in early 2012 to have sliding sports (bobsleigh, luge and skeleton) included at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

[14] At the meeting in Madrid, Spain, on 10 and 11 September 2018, the IPC executive board announced that Para Bobsleigh had failed in some evaluation criteria and would not be part of the official program for the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games.

The governing bodies listed represent those organizations responsible for the broadest level of participation.