Facts about the Paralympics
- 09
Since 2012, prosthetic blade technology at the Paralympics has advanced so significantly that some track sprinters now achieve comparable or faster speeds than able-bodied Olympic competitors in their respective events.
- 08
Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee sprinter, competed in both the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, becoming the first athlete with an amputation to run in the Olympic Games.
- 07
Visually impaired goalball athletes at the 2024 Paris Paralympics competed in a sport invented in 1946 specifically for rehabilitation of World War II veterans with blindness.
- 06
South African archer Sizabantu Mthembu won gold in the mixed team compound event at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, becoming the first archer to claim Paralympic gold in that discipline.
- 05
Swimmers competing in the S14 classification at the Paralympics have intellectual disabilities but can achieve times within 5-15 percent of Olympic records in events like the 100-meter freestyle.
- 04
Approximately 4.4 billion people worldwide have a disability, yet only 4,400 athletes competed at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, representing less than 0.0001 percent of the global disabled population.
- 03
Blind sprinter Ntando Mahlangu of South Africa set a new T61 100-meter world record of 11.76 seconds at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
- 02
At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, 4,400 athletes from 163 countries competed across 22 sports, making it the largest Paralympic Games by athlete participation in history.
- 01
Wheelchair tennis player Angelique Kerber won three Grand Slam titles before transitioning to the Paralympics, competing across multiple able-bodied and disabled categories simultaneously.