The first Paralympic Games were held in Rome, Italy in 1960 and featured 400 athletes from 23 countries.
Sport for athletes with an impairment has existed for more than 100 years, and the first sport clubs for the deaf were already in existence in 1888 in Berlin.
It was not until after World War II however, that it was widely introduced. The purpose of it at that time was to assist the large number of war veterans and civilians who had been injured during wartime.
In 1944, at the request of the British Government, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann opened a spinal injuries centre at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Great Britain, and in time, rehabilitation sport evolved to recreational sport and then to competitive sport.
On 29 July 1948, the day of the Opening Ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games, Dr. Guttmann organised the first competition for wheelchair athletes which he named the Stoke Mandeville Games, a milestone in Paralympics history. They involved 16 injured servicemen and women who took part in archery. In 1952, Dutch ex-servicemen joined the Movement and the International Stoke Mandeville Games were founded. These Games later became the Paralympic Games.
To learn more about the history of Paralympics, visit the International Paralympic Committee.
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In sports buzz, Paralympics officials have done what Olympics officials chose not to do, barring all Russian athletes from their Games after an elaborate cheating scheme.
The head of the International Paralympic Committee, Philip Craven, on Sunday decried Russia’s “thirst for glory” and “medals over morals” mentality. He called the government-coordinated cover-up of doping among Russia’s top disabled athletes “abominable.”
The committee barred the country from global competition by a unanimous vote; Paralympics officials had announced their intention to do so last month. The decision, issued Sunday, was effective immediately, Mr. Craven said. Read more of the news at The New York Times.