[4] Unofficial medals were awarded to the competitors by Juan Antonio Samaranch, the International Olympic Committee president.

[5][6] The events were dropped prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and multiple Paralympic gold medallist Chantal Petitclerc stated the decision was a major set-back for the sport, as she favoured its official integration as an Olympic sport.

[7] At the inaugural event in 1984 Sharon Hedrick broke the IPC world record to win the women's 800 m in a time of 2:15.73 minutes.

[8] The Olympic records for the event were set by Saúl Mendoza, who finished in 3:06.75 minutes to win the 2000 men's 1500 m race,[9] and Chantal Petitclerc, who won the last women's 800 m event in 1:53.66 minutes in 2004.

The United States had the most success in the event, gathering eleven medals over the six editions.