Overview
The first Para athletics competition was held in 1952 when several athletes with a spinal cord injury took part in a javelin event as part of the Stoke Mandeville Games, which served injured World War II veterans. At Rome 1960, the Para athletics competition featured 31 athletes (21 men and 10 women) from 10 countries who took part in 25 medal events.
Para athletics differs significantly from athletics at the Olympics as athletes are placed into competition categories (called sport classes) according to how much their impairment affects sports performance.
Track events may include short, medium and long-distance races as well as relays. However, they are not fixed since the question of which events and classes are held is determined on a competition-by-competition basis in light of factors such as the number of participating athletes.
Athletes challenge their limits by striving to shave even a fraction of a second off their personal best time while compensating for their impairment.
Find out about the details of athletics classification
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