T52 (classification)
People in this class have good shoulder and upper body control, but lack fine motor skills in their arms and hands.
"[1] The Australian Paralympic Committee defines this classification as being for people with "Damage to spinal cord in the higher parts of the back.
Pushing power comes from elbow extensions, and appears close to normal except for use of modified gloves to compensate for grip.
Equivalent activity limitation to person with complete cord injury at cord level C7-8" [4] The International Paralympic Committee defined this classification on their website in July 2016 as, "Athletes use their shoulder, elbow and wrist muscles for wheelchair propulsion.
"[5] For the related field classification, F52, International Paralympic Committee defined this classification on their website in July 2016, "Athletes usually have good shoulder muscles and mildly weak to full elbow and wrist muscles which are required for throwing an implement.
Finger flexor and extensor muscles are non-functional making grip of the implement difficult.
[6][7] In general, Les Autres classes cover sportspeople with locomotor disabilities regardless of their diagnosis.
[17] Sportspeople in this class use wheelchairs on a regular basis as a result of reduced muscle function.
[18] ACSM's Primary Care Sports Medicine defines LAF1 as a medical class as "[s]evere involvement of the four limbs -- for example, MS, muscular dystrophy (MD), juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) with contractures" As a functional class, ACSM's Primary Care Sports Medicine defines LAF1 as "use of wheelchair with reduced function of muscle strength and/or spasticity in throwing arm, and poor sitting balance.
"[19] In terms of functional classification, this means the sportsperson uses a wheelchair, has poor sitting balance and has reduced strength or spasticity in their throwing arm.
[20] Sportspeople with muscular dystrophy in this class have a number of factors that can make sports participation difficult.
This includes poor pulmonary function, and potentially having restrictive lung disease values.
[21][23] The location of lesions on different vertebrae tend to be associated with disability levels and functionality issues.
[29] Field events open to this class have included shot put, discus and javelin.
[31] In the United States, people in this class are allowed to use strapping on the non-throwing hand as a way to anchor themselves to the chair.
[21][34] Disabled Sports USA defined the anatomical definition of this class in 2003 as, "Have full power at elbow and wrist joints.
[35] Disabled Sports USA defined the functional definition of this class in 2003 as, "Have nearly normal grip with non-throwing arm.
[38] A person in this class with an additional impairment in the elbow of their throwing arm may find themselves classified as F52 instead.
[40] Field events open to this class have included shot put, discus and javelin.
[31] In the United States, people in this class are allowed to use strapping on the non-throwing hand as a way to anchor themselves to the chair.
Officials can check for this by placing the chair against a wall, where the rear wheels should touch it without obstruction.
[41] Because this is a wheelchair class, different rules apply for overtaking with the responsibility lying with the racer coming from behind.
[41] In wheelchair races, the winner and time is determined by when the center of the front axle goes across the finish line.
Rests can be used on the frame but they need to be present only for safety reasons and to aide in athlete stability.
[41] People in this class can put tape on their non-throwing hand to assist in gripping the holding bar.
For other events, organizers generally have the option to use that formula to give all throwers six consecutive throws.
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.
During this, they both undergo a bench test of muscle strength and demonstrate their skills in athletics, such as pushing a racing wheelchair and throwing.
[50] Notable competitors in the T52 class include Raymond Martin (USA), Tomoya Ito (JPN),[51][52][53] Michelle Stilwell (CAN) and Marieke Vervoort (BEL).
