Informational portal. History of the Paralympic Games

The Paralympic Games (Paralympic Games) are international sports competitions for the disabled (except for the hearing impaired). Traditionally held after the main Olympic Games, and since 1988 - at the same sports facilities; in 2001, this practice was enshrined in an agreement between the IOC and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The Summer Paralympic Games have been held since 1960, and the Winter Paralympic Games since 1976.

The emergence of sports in which disabled people can participate is associated with the name of the English neurosurgeon Ludwig Gutman, who, overcoming age-old stereotypes in relation to people with physical disabilities, introduced sports into the process of rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries. He has proven in practice that sports for people with physical disabilities creates conditions for successful life, restores mental balance, allows them to return to a full life regardless of physical disabilities, and strengthens the physical strength necessary to manage a wheelchair.

Name

The name was originally associated with the term paraplegia paralysis of the lower extremities, since these competitions were held among people with diseases of the spine, but with the beginning of athletes and other diseases participating in the games, it was reinterpreted as “near, outside (Greek παρά) the Olympics”; This refers to the parallelism and equality of the Paralympic competitions with the Olympic ones.

The spelling “Paralympic” is recorded in the academic “Russian Spelling Dictionary” and other dictionaries. The spelling “Paralympic” has not yet been noted in dictionaries and is used only in official documents of government authorities, being a carbon copy of the official name (IOC) in English - paralympic games. Federal Law No. 253-FZ of November 9, 2009 “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” (adopted by the State Duma on October 21, 2009, approved by the Federation Council on October 30, 2009) established the uniform use in the legislation of the Russian Federation of the words Paralympic and deaflympic, as well as phrases formed on their basis: Russian Paralympic Committee, Paralympic Games, etc. In the said Federal Law, the spelling of these words is brought into line with the rules established by international sports organizations. The rejection of the term “Paralympic” is due to the fact that the use of the word “Olympic” and its derivatives for marketing and other commercial purposes must be agreed upon each time with the IOC.

At first, the term "Paralympic Games" was used unofficially. The 1960 Games were officially called the "Ninth International Stoke Mandeville Games" and were only given the status of the first Paralympic Games in 1984. The first games to officially apply the term "Paralympics" were the 1964 games. However, in a number of games up to the 1980 Games, the term “Olympic Games for the Disabled” was used, in 1984 - “International Games for the Disabled”. The term “Paralympic” was finally formalized starting with the 1988 Games.

In 1948, Stoke Mandeville Rehabilitation Hospital doctor Ludwig Guttmann gathered British veterans returning from World War II with spinal cord injuries to participate in sports competitions. Called the "Father of Sports for the Physically Disabled," Guttman was a strong proponent of using sports to improve the quality of life for people with spinal cord injuries. The first Games, which became the prototype of the Paralympic Games, were called the Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games - 1948 and coincided with the Olympic Games in London. Guttman had a far-reaching goal - the creation of the Olympic Games for athletes with disabilities. The British Stoke Mandeville Games were held annually, and in 1952, with the arrival of a Dutch team of wheelchair athletes to participate in the competition, the Games received international status and had 130 participants. The IX Stock Mandeville Games, which were open not only to war veterans, took place in 1960 in Rome. They are considered the first official Paralympic Games. 400 wheelchair athletes from 23 countries competed in Rome. Since that time, the rapid development of the Paralympic movement in the world began.

In 1976, the first Winter Paralympic Games took place in Örnsköldsvik (Sweden), in which for the first time not only wheelchair users, but also athletes with other categories of disabilities took part. Also in 1976, the Summer Paralympic Games in Toronto made history by attracting 1,600 participants from 40 countries, including the blind and visually impaired, paraplegics, and athletes with amputees, spinal cord injuries and other types of physical impairments.

The competition, the original purpose of which was the treatment and rehabilitation of disabled people, has become a top-level sporting event, which necessitates the creation of a governing body. In 1982, the Coordinating Council of International Sports Organizations for the Disabled - ICC - was created. Seven years later, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) was created and the coordinating council transferred its powers to it.

Another turning point in the Paralympic movement was the 1988 Summer Paralympic Games, which were held in the same venues as the Olympic competitions. The 1992 Winter Paralympics took place in the same city and in the same arenas as the Olympic competition. In 2001, the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee signed an agreement requiring the Paralympic Games to be held in the same year, in the same country, and to use the same venues as the Olympic Games. This agreement officially applies starting with the 2012 Summer Games.

Paralympic sport dates back to the 1880s. However, it was the development in 1945 of a new treatment regimen for people with spinal cord injuries that led to the development of the worldwide sports movement for the disabled, known today as the Paralympic Movement. After World War II, sports for the disabled took a step forward, greatly facilitated by the work of Ludwig Guttmann, a German doctor who fled to England from Nazism in 1936. He approved sport as a means of physical, psychological and social rehabilitation of disabled people with spinal injuries. Sir Ludwig Guttmann from Stoke Mandeville Hospital (England) radically changed the theory and practice of rehabilitation, placing special emphasis on sports. Over time, what began as auxiliary procedures for the physical rehabilitation of World War II veterans grew into a sports movement in which the physical performance of athletes takes center stage (Professor Ludwig Guttmann eventually became director of the Stoke Mandeville Center and president of the British International Organization for the Treatment of Disabled Persons musculoskeletal system). Disabled people with damage to the musculoskeletal system (PODA) began to actively participate in sports. At the Stoke Mandeville Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Centre, a sports program has been developed as an essential part of comprehensive treatment.

In 1948, Sir Ludwig Guttmann founded the Stoke Mandeville Games (SMI), which took place at the same time as the Olympic Games in Great Britain. Former military personnel - 16 paralyzed men and women - took part in the archery competition. The first multinational participation in the Stoke Mandeville Games (Dutch and English war veterans) led to the first International Stoke Mandeville Games (IMSG) in 1952, the forerunner of the modern Paralympic Games. In subsequent years, there was an increase in both the number of participants and the types of sports. The Games began to be held annually as an international sports festival. Disabled athletes from Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, and then other countries took part in it. There was a need for an international organization to coordinate the emerging Paralympic movement. This led to the creation of the International Stoke Mandeville Federation, which established a close relationship with the International Olympic Committee.

Already in 1956, during the Olympic Games in Melbourne, she was awarded a special cup by the IOC for realizing the Olympic ideals of humanism. In Stoke Mandeville, the first stadium for disabled athletes was built using funds from disabled people, pensioners and charitable donations. In 1959, Ludwig Guttmann developed and published in the “Book of Stoke Mandeville Games for the Paralyzed” the first ever regulations for competitions in sports for the disabled. The Paralympic Movement first developed through the creation of various sports organizations for people with specific disabilities, known today as International Organizations of Sports for the Disabled (IODS). In 1960, the first of these organizations, the Committee for the International Stoke Mandeville Games (CSMIG), was established in Rome. In 1972 it was renamed the International Federation of Stoke Mandeville Games (IFMSG) and later became the International Federation of Wheelchair Sports of Stoke Mandeville (IFWMS). In 1964, the International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD) was founded, which also included athletes with amputations. In 2004, IFSCSM and ISOD merged and became known as the International Federation of Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IFAS).

The International Sports and Physical Education Association for Persons with Cerebral Palsy (SP-ISRA) was created in 1978, followed by the International Federation of Blind Sports (IBSA) in 1981 and the International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities in 1986. INAS-FID). In 1960, the 9th Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games were held in Rome, Italy, a few weeks after the Olympic Games. As a consequence of this symbolic action and the participation of more than 400 athletes from 23 countries in these games, they are honored as the first Paralympic Games. It was decided that every fourth year these games would be held in the country of the Olympiads and would be considered the Olympic Games for the Disabled.

Since then, the Paralympic Games have been held in the same year of the Olympic Games, and since the 1988 Seoul Paralympics, they have been held in the same cities and locations as their Olympic counterparts. Twice the games were held in countries, but not in the cities of the Olympics - in Germany and Canada, and three times in other countries, bypassing the Olympic ones - in Israel and Holland in 1980 and 1994. The term "Paralympic Games" became official in 1988. This name comes from the Greek preposition "para" ("about" or "alongside") and the word "Olympic Games". The first Paralympic Winter Games were held in Ornskoldsvik (Sweden) in 1976. Since the 1992 Games in Tignes-Albertville (France), the Paralympic Winter Games have been held in the same cities as the Olympic Winter Games.

As the movement grew, so did the need for increased coordination and collaboration between different organizations. In 1982, IFSM, SP-ISRA, IBSA and ISOD joined forces to create the International Committee for the Coordination of Sports for the Disabled Worldwide (ICC). In 1986, they were also joined by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (CIDS) and the International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (INAS-FID). The ICC represented the interests of disabled people's groups and governed the Paralympic Games between 1982 and 1992. However, the growing need for greater national representation and the creation of a more sport-oriented movement led to the founding of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in 1989 in Düsseldorf, Germany, as the recognized governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The meeting was attended by representatives of the six IOCDs, which are considered founding members of the IPC, and forty-two National Paralympic Committees and National Disability Sports Organizations. They approved the first IPC Constitution and elected the first President, Dr. Robert Steadward from Canada. It was only five years later, in 1994, that the IPC assumed full responsibility for the Paralympic Games.

In 2001, the IPC General Assembly authorized a review of the governance and structure of the IPC. Under the leadership of the new President, Sir Philip Craven, a process of strategic review was initiated in 2002. The process culminated in the approval of a package of proposals at the historic 2003 General Assembly “Designing the Future” in Turin, which led to the adoption of the current Constitution in 2004. The Constitution and the Regulations adopted on its basis are the governing documents of the IPC and the Paralympic Movement.

In 2003, the IPC adopted a Vision that reflects the core purpose of the Paralympic Movement: to provide Paralympians with the opportunity to achieve sporting excellence and inspire and delight the world.

The Paralympic Movement, under the supreme leadership of the IPC, includes all athletes and officials affiliated with NPCs, IOSDs, International Sports Federations (IFs), Regional Organizations (ROs), IPC Sports Committees, IPC Councils, IPC Standing Committees and others and other organizations that agree to be guided by the Constitution and Regulations of the IPC. The criterion for membership of the Paralympic Movement is official membership of the IPC or recognition by the IPC. When the IPC was created in 1989, its headquarters were located in Bruges, Belgium. In 1997, the IPC General Assembly voted to move its headquarters to Bonn, Germany, and create its first professional staff structure. The official opening of the new headquarters took place on September 3, 1999.

Abstract on physical culture

performed by physics teacher Veselova A.V.

2015

Plan

Sports for everyone.

Paralympic Games.

History of the Paralympic Games.

International Paralympic Committee.

Paralympic sports.

Paralympic Games in the modern world.

Only forward!

Sports for everyone

More than 2000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Democritus said: “To conquer yourself is the main and best of all victories.” This applies to all athletes, but most of all to Paralympians.

Phil Craven, head of the International Paralympic Committee. 2008

Today our life requires the unification of the efforts of all people in the main direction - achieving peace, mutual understanding, cooperation in the name of progress. Without this unity, humanity will not be able to solve its economic, social, cultural, and environmental problems.

Sports played a huge role in this noble cause. Interstate and international sports meetings give rise to friendly contacts; millions and millions of fans join them, forming a multilingual, multinational community. And the pinnacle of sporting celebrations were the Olympics.

The Olympics serves as a powerful stimulus for the development of world sports and the physical education movement. But it is known that physical culture is the main key to the health of the nation and humanity. The Paralympics, the Olympic Games for the disabled, is considered to be as outstanding an event in the world as the Olympics, one of the three areas of elite sports for disabled people.

I used to watch TV shows, read books about people with disabilities and was always amazed at their courage. When I learned that there are not only public organizations for people with disabilities, but also competitions called the Paralympic Games, this topic interested me very much. And I set a goal for myself: to find out what the Paralympic Games are and who takes part in them.

In my work, I used data from the International Paralympic Committee, as well as scientific publications about Paralympic sports and elite sports for people with disabilities. Only a small part of the information could be found in books and newspaper articles. The main source of information was the Internet. I was able to find many sites, articles and publications devoted to this topic. As a result of the search, I found some quite interesting facts.

Back in the 18th and 19th centuries. It has been established that physical activity is one of the main factors in the rehabilitation of disabled people. The Paralympic Games have a very important role in the life of the country. Every year the number of participants increases, as does the number of sports.

PArlympic Games

History of the Paralympic Games

The development of sports for people with disabilities has a history of more than a century.
The first attempts to involve disabled people in sports were made in the 19th century, when, in 1888, the first sports club for the deaf was formed in Berlin. For the first time, the “Olympic Games for the Deaf” were held in Paris on August 10-17, 1924. Athletes from the official national federations of Belgium, Great Britain, Holland, Poland, France and Czechoslovakia participated in them. Athletes from Italy, Romania and Hungary, which did not have such federations, arrived at the Games. The Games program included competitions in athletics, cycling, football, shooting and swimming. (Appendix I)

The emergence of sports in which disabled people can participate is associated with the name of the English neurosurgeon Ludwig Guttman, who, overcoming age-old stereotypes in relation to people with physical disabilities, introduced sports into the process of rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries. He has proven in practice that sport for people with physical disabilities creates conditions for successful life, restores mental balance, and allows them to return to a full life, regardless of physical disabilities.

During World War II, at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, England, Ludwig Guttmann founded the Center for the Treatment of Spinal Injuries, where the first archery competitions for wheelchair athletes were held. It happened on July 28, 1948 - a group of disabled people, which consisted of 16 paralyzed men and women, former military personnel, picked up sports equipment for the first time in the history of sports.

In 1952, former Dutch soldiers joined the movement and founded the International Sports Federation for People with Musculoskeletal Disabilities. The idea of ​​holding competitions for disabled people was supported by the international community. The Games have become an annual international sports festival, and since 1952, disabled athletes from the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, and Norway have regularly taken part in them.

In 1956, Ludwig Guttmann developed an athletes' charter and formed the basis on which sports for the disabled subsequently developed.

In 1960, under the auspices of the World Federation of Military Personnel, an International Working Group was created that studied the problems of sports for the disabled.

In 1960, the first International Competition for Disabled People was held in Rome. 400 disabled athletes from 23 countries took part in them. The opening ceremony of the Games took place on September 18 at the AkvaAcetosa stadium, where five thousand spectators were present. The delegation of Italian athletes was the largest. The program of the Roman Games included eight sports, including athletics, swimming, fencing, basketball, archery, table tennis, etc. Medals were awarded in 57 disciplines. Athletes with spinal cord injuries took part in the competition. At these Games, outstanding results were shown by F. Rossi from Italy (fencing), D. Thomson from Great Britain (athletics), etc. First place at the Games in the unofficial team competition was taken by Italy, second and third places were shared by Great Britain and the USA. Summing up, L. Guttman defined “the significance of the Roman Games as a new model for the integration of the paralyzed into society.”

In 1964, the International Sports Organization for Disabled Persons was created, which was joined by 16 countries.

In 1964, competitions in 7 sports were held in Tokyo, and it was then that the flag was officially raised for the first time, the anthem was played and the official emblem of the games was unveiled. The graphic symbol of the world Paralympic movement has become red, blue and green hemispheres, which symbolize the mind, body, and unbroken spirit.

In 1972, more than a thousand disabled people from 44 countries took part in the competition in Toronto. Only wheelchair athletes participated, and since 1976, athletes with spinal injuries were joined by athletes of other injury groups - visually impaired and people who had amputated limbs.

With each subsequent Games, the number of participants increased, the geography of countries expanded, and the number of sports increased. And in 1982, a body appeared that contributed to the expansion of the Paralympic Games - the International Coordinating Committee of the World Organization for Sports for the Disabled. Ten years later, in 1992, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) became its successor. Currently, the IPC includes 162 countries.

In 1988, at the Seoul Games, disabled athletes received the right of access to sports facilities in the host city of the Olympics. It was from this time that competitions began to be held in the same arenas in which healthy Olympians compete, regularly every four years, after the Olympic Games.

International Paralympic Committee

The IPC is the global governing body of the Paralympic movement. It organizes the summer and winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for the 13 sports it controls. She also coordinates the holding of world championships and other similar competitions.

The International Committee is established to ensure that Paralympic athletes prepare for sporting experience and develop sporting capabilities. This applies to everyone with a disability, from beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC is committed to promoting the Paralympic values ​​of courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

The highest body of the IPS is the General Assembly, between whose meetings the Executive Committee is responsible for resolving all issues. It consists of 22 members: eight, including the President, are elected by the General Assembly, the committee also includes 6 regional representatives, 5 representatives of International Sports Organizations for the Disabled, one representative of the Olympic Games, one representative of the OWG and one representative from the athletes. The committee meets at least twice a year.

Founded on 22 September 1989, the IPC is an international non-profit organization formed and supported by 162 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) from five regions, as well as four International Sports Federations for the Disabled (IOSD). IPC's headquarters and management team are located in Bonn, Germany. (Appendix II)

Paralympic sports

There are 35 Olympic sports and 17 Paralympic sports: archery, athletics, cycling, dressage, fencing, judo, weightlifting, shooting, football, swimming, table tennis, wheelchair basketball, rugby and wheelchair tennis, volleyball, skiing cross country and ice hockey.

Archery . The first organized competitions were held in 1948 in England in the city of Mandeville. Today, the traditions of these games are continued in regular competitions, in which wheelchair users also take part. Women's and men's sports categories have been introduced in this type of martial arts. The outstanding results achieved by disabled athletes in this sport indicate the significant potential of this type of competition. The International Paralympic Games program includes singles, doubles and team competitions, with judging and scoring procedures identical to those used at the Olympic Games.

Athletics . The athletics program of the Paralympic Games includes a wide range of types of competitions. It entered the program of the International Paralympic Games in 1960. Athletes with a wide variety of health conditions take part in track and field competitions. Competitions are held for wheelchair users, prosthetists, and the blind. Moreover, the latter act in conjunction with the suggestive one. Typically, the track and field program includes track, throw, jumping, pentathlon and marathon. Athletes compete according to their functional classifications.

Cycling. This sport is one of the newest in the history of Paralympism. In the early eighties, competitions were held for the first time in which athletes with visual impairments took part. However, already in 1984, paralyzed athletes and amputees also competed at the International Games for the Disabled. Until 1992, Paralympic cycling competitions were held separately for each of the listed groups. At the Paralympic Games in Barcelona, ​​cyclists of all three groups competed on a special track and also on a track. Cycling competitions can be either individual or group (a group of three cyclists from one country). Athletes with intellectual disabilities compete using standard racing bicycles and, in some classes, tricycles. Athletes with visual impairments compete on tandem bicycles paired with a sighted teammate. They also race on the track. Finally, amputees and motor-impaired cyclists compete in individual events on specially prepared bicycles.

Dressage. Equestrian competitions are open to paralytics, amputees, blind and visually impaired persons, and mental retardation. This type of competition is held at the Summer Games. Equestrian competitions are held only in the individual class. Athletes demonstrate their skills by completing a short segment in which the pace and direction of movement alternate. At the Paralympic Games, athletes are grouped according to a separate classification. Within these groups, the winners who demonstrate the best results are identified.

Fencing. All athletes compete in wheelchairs that are fixed to the floor. However, these chairs allow fencers considerable freedom of movement, and their actions are as fast-paced as in traditional competitions. The founder of wheelchair fencing is considered to be Sir Ludwig Guttmann, who formulated the concept of this sport in 1953. Fencing became part of the Paralympic Games in 1960. Since then, the rules have been improved - they were amended to require wheelchairs to be secured to the floor.

Judo. The only way Paralympic judo differs from traditional judo is the different textures on the mats, indicating the competition area and zones. Paralympic judokas compete for the main prize - a gold medal, and the rules of the game are identical to the rules of the International Judo Federation. Judo was included in the 1988 Paralympic Games. Four years later, at the games in Barcelona, ​​53 athletes representing 16 countries took part in this type of competition.

Weightlifting (powerlifting). The starting point for the development of this Paralympic sport is considered to be the holding of the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona. Then 25 countries presented their sports delegations to weightlifting competitions. The number more than doubled at the 1996 Atlanta Games. 58 participating countries were registered. Since 1996, the number of participating countries has steadily increased, and today 109 countries on five continents take part in the Paralympic weightlifting program. Today, the Paralympic weightlifting program includes the participation of all groups of disabled people who compete in 10 weight categories, both male and female. Women first took part in these competitions in 2000 at the Sydney Paralympics. Then women represented 48 countries of the world.

Shooting . Shooting competitions are divided into rifle and pistol classes. The rules for competitions for the disabled are established by the International Shooting Committee for the Disabled. These rules take into account the differences that exist between the capabilities of an able-bodied person and a disabled person at the level of using the functional classification system, which allows athletes with different health conditions to compete in team and individual competitions.

Football. The main prize of these competitions is a gold medal, and only men's teams take part in them. FIFA rules apply with some restrictions taking into account the health characteristics of athletes. For example, the offside rule does not apply, the field and goal itself are smaller than in traditional football, and a throw-in from the sideline can be done with one hand. Teams must have a minimum of 11 players on their roster.

Swimming . This sports program comes from the traditions of physical therapy and rehabilitation of the disabled. Swimming is available to disabled people of all groups of functional limitations; the only condition is a ban on the use of prostheses and other assistive devices.

Table tennis . In this sport, players are primarily required to have well-developed technique and quick reactions. Therefore, athletes use generally accepted methods of play, despite their physical limitations. Table tennis competitions at the Paralympic Games are held in two forms - in wheelchair competitions and in traditional form. The program includes both individual and team competitions for men and women. The classification for this sport consists of 10 functional groups, which include athletes with various disabilities. Paralympic table tennis competitions are governed by rules issued by the International Table Tennis Federation, with minor modifications.

Wheelchair basketball . The main governing body in this sport is the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF), which develops classifications for players of various degrees of disability. The IWBF rules govern the judging order and the height of the basket, which are similar to the traditional game. Although wheelchair basketball has many similarities to traditional basketball, it is characterized by its own unique style of play: defense and offense must be carried out in accordance with the principles of support and mutual assistance. Unique dribbling rules that allow you to organize the movement of wheelchairs across the field give the attack a special, unique style. So it can involve two attackers and three defenders at once, which gives it greater speed. Unlike the traditional game, where the main style of play is "back to the basket", when playing wheelchair basketball, the forwards play "facing the basket", constantly moving forward.

Wheelchair rugby . Wheelchair rugby combines elements of basketball, football and ice hockey, and is played on a basketball court. Teams consist of 4 players, plus up to eight substitutes. The classification of players is based on their physical capabilities, based on which each player is assigned a certain number of points from 0.5 to 3.5. The total number of points in a team should not exceed 8.0. The game uses a volleyball ball that can be carried or passed by hand. The ball cannot be held for more than 10 seconds. Points are scored after hitting the opponent's goal line. The game consists of four periods, each lasting 8 minutes.

Wheelchair tennis . Wheelchair tennis first appeared in the Paralympic program in 1992. The sport itself originated in the USA in the early 1970s and continues to improve today. The rules of the game actually repeat the rules of traditional tennis and, naturally, require similar skills from athletes. The only difference is that players are allowed two outs, with the first being within the boundaries of the court. To gain access to play, an athlete must be medically diagnosed with mobility limitations. The Paralympic Games program includes singles and doubles events. In addition to the Paralympic Games, tennis players compete in numerous national tournaments. At the end of each calendar year, the International Tennis Federation reviews quotations provided by NEC, national quotations and other relevant information to identify contenders for the championship title.

Volleyball. The Paralympic Volleyball Championships are held in two categories: sitting and standing. Thus, athletes with all functional limitations can take part in the Paralympic Games. The high level of teamwork, skill, strategy and intensity is certainly evident in both categories of competition. The main difference between traditional volleyball and the Paralympic version of the game is the smaller court size and lower net position.

Cross-country skiing. Skiers compete in classic or freestyle skiing and also in individual and team competitions over distances from 2.5 to 20 km. Depending on their functional limitations, competitors use either traditional skis or a chair equipped with a pair of skis. Blind athletes ride together with a sighted guide.

Hockey . The Paralympic version of ice hockey made its debut at the Games in 1994 and has since become one of the most spectacular sporting events on the program. As in traditional ice hockey, six players (including the goalkeeper) from each team are on the field at a time. The sleds are equipped with skate blades, and players navigate the field using iron-tipped sticks. The game consists of three periods lasting 15 minutes.(Application III)

Paralympic Games in the modern world

The International Olympic Committee has chosen the city of Sochi as the capital of the XXII Olympic and XI Paralympic Winter Games in 2014. Thanks to this decision, Russia will be able to host the first Winter Games in its history.

Throughout the two-year campaign, the Sochi 2014 Bid Committee demonstrated its passion and confidence in winning by creating an innovative concept for the Games. We have demonstrated convincingly. To the International Olympic Committee that Russia is the most reliable partner for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Residents of Russia have a special love for winter sports and highly value the Olympic ideals. These feelings were fully evident during the application campaign. The whole country was united by the desire to hold an unforgettable Games in 2014. (Appendix IV)

The 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi will be the most important event in the life of our country, which will leave an invaluable sports legacy for new generations of athletes and the entire Olympic movement.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games will bring about positive changes in Russian society: more attention will be paid to environmental protection and the integration of people with disabilities into active social life. The Olympic Games will increase the popularity of winter sports among Russians.

With the support of the Government of the Russian Federation, over the next seven years, a new transport infrastructure will be built in the unique resort city of Sochi, the network of hotels will be expanded, engineering communications will be modernized, and a number of modern sports facilities will be erected. Athletes from Russia and neighboring countries will receive the most modern training facilities.

In the entire history of the Winter Olympic Games, Russians have won 293 medals. Over the past 25 years, our country has hosted international championships and competitions more than 100 times. Russians love sports; numerous victories of our athletes have made a huge contribution to the formation of national identity. The whole country is looking forward to the Winter Olympics.

Every year, more than 100 national competitions are held for Paralympians, the best athletes participate in international tournaments, and at the Winter Paralympic Games in Turin, the Russian team won a landslide victory, winning 33 medals, including 13 gold.

“The Paralympic Games in Sochi will leave a rich and multifaceted legacy for the entire Russian society, increasing its awareness of such an important humanistic and socio-moral sphere of activity as the world Paralympic movement,” says Dmitry Chernyshenko, General Director of the Sochi 2014 Bid Committee. - Infrastructure modernization Sochi, taking into account the needs of people with disabilities, will significantly increase the city’s importance as a year-round world-class resort.”

Despite the fact that the Olympics will take place only in 2014, active preparation of Paralympic athletes is already underway. Forward to new victories!

Only forward!

Back in the 18th and 19th centuries. It has been established that physical activity is one of the main factors in the rehabilitation of disabled people.

Gradually, sports for the disabled gained worldwide significance. The achievements of athletes with physical disabilities are amazing. Sometimes they came close to Olympic records. In fact, there is not a single well-known and popular sport left in which disabled athletes do not take part. The number of Paralympic disciplines is steadily expanding.

Overcoming age-old stereotypes in relation to people with physical disabilities, sport creates conditions for successful life, restores mental balance, and allows you to return to a full life, regardless of physical disabilities.

The current stage of development of the Paralympic Games is characterized by a significant increase in competition, which is confirmed by the constantly growing number of countries that have won Paralympic medals. The traditional leaders of the world Paralympic movement are being replaced by representatives of China, Ukraine, Iran, Egypt and other countries that previously did not have significant achievements in Paralympic sports.

I learned that today there are more than 1,200 organizations in Russia that are involved in the development of Paralympic sports. The graphic symbol of the world Paralympic movement has become red, blue and green hemispheres, which symbolize the mind, body, and unbroken spirit.

According to leading experts, sports the highest achievements of disabled people develop according to patterns sports of the highest achievements of healthy people, while having their own specific features.

I admire these people who were able to overcome themselves, their illness, move towards their goal and go only forward, towards victory.

There is a well-known expression: big things come from little things. They, like a mirror, reflect the essence, the general line of development of this or that phenomenon; these are, as it were, facets that create and shape the overall picture. And without these details, no phenomenon can exist, cannot be complete and memorable. And are these little things at all? After all, in the end, all life is made up of them. It’s the same at the Paralympics, because games are about start, movement, finish and victory, victory over oneself. And all this is life!

Literature

1. Anokhina T.A., Kuznetsov D.V. Problems of development of the Paralympic movement // Current problems of physical culture: Conference materials. - Rostov-on-Don, 1995. - P.113-115.

2. Bashkirova M.M. Physical activity and sport among disabled people: reality and prospects // Sports for everyone (Journal). - 1999. - No. 1-2. - pp. 26-28.

3. Kolodny A.G., Spassky O.D. Olympic Games: comparison of incomparables. – M.: Sov. Russia, 1985.

The history of the Olympic Games is well known to many. Unfortunately, the Paralympic, or, as they say, Paralympic, games are much less known - the Olympiads for people with physical disabilities and disabilities.

The founder of the Paralympic movement, the outstanding neurosurgeon Ludwig Guttmann (1899-1980), was born in Germany. For a long time he worked in a hospital in Breslau. In 1939 he emigrated to England. His medical talent was obvious and soon appreciated: on behalf of the British government in 1944, he opened and headed the Spinal Cord Injury Center at the hospital in the small town of Stoke Mandeville, 74 km from London. Using his techniques, Guttman helped many soldiers wounded in the battles of World War II return to normal life after severe wounds and injuries. An important place in these methods was given to sports.

It was in Stoke Mandeville in 1948 that Ludwig Guttmann held an archery competition among wheelchair athletes - the Olympic Games were opening in London at the same time. In 1952, again simultaneously with the next Olympics, he organized the first international competition with the participation of 130 disabled athletes from England and Holland. And in 1956, for organizing the next major competitions for people with disabilities, Guttman received an award from the International Olympic Committee - the Fernley Cup for his contribution to the development of the Olympic movement.

Guttman's persistence was crowned with success. Immediately after the 1960 Olympics, the first summer Paralympic Games took place in Rome, and since 1976, winter games have also been held regularly.

For outstanding services in saving people from physical and mental illnesses, helping to restore their sense of civic fullness and dignity, Guttman received a knighthood and the highest award - the Order of the British Empire.

Of course, all of them - Paralympic athletes - are heroes because they did not accept the fate prepared by fate. They broke it and won. And it doesn’t matter at all whether their victory is crowned with an official award. But first, it’s worth remembering the predecessors of modern Paralympic heroes.

George Acer (USA). He was born in 1871 in Germany, the birthplace of gymnastics - perhaps that is why he chose this sport, continuing to practice it in the USA, where his family emigrated. Achieved the first successes and - tragedy. I got hit by a train and lost my left leg. Using a wooden prosthesis, he continued to prepare for the Olympic Games, which were to be held in his city of St. Louis.

And when they took place, Eiser, a gymnast on a wooden prosthesis, won gold medals in exercises on the uneven bars, in the vault and in rope climbing. In addition, he won silver medals on seven apparatuses and bronze on the horizontal bar.

Oliver Halassi (Hungary)- silver medalist of the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, Olympic champion of the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles and the pre-war Olympics in Berlin of 1936. As a child, he lost his leg below the knee when he was hit by a car. He categorically refused to recognize himself as disabled, training in swimming and water polo.

In 1931, Oliver became the European champion in 1500 m swimming, and in 1931, 1934 and 1938, as part of the Hungarian national team, he won the title of European champion in water polo. He was the champion of his country in swimming 25 times (!) - at distances from 400 to 1500 m.

In our country, Oliver Halassi is almost unknown; there is no information about him in sports books. The reason is that in 1946 he died at the hands of a Soviet Army soldier. According to one version, the athlete tried to stop the looters near his home. A few days later, his wife gave birth to their third child.

Károly Takás (Hungary)(1910-1976). Olympic champion in London 1948 and Helsinki 1952. Takash was a military man, but in 1938 his army career was cut short by a defective grenade ruptured in his right hand.

Károly quickly relearned how to shoot with his left hand: the very next year after the tragedy - in 1939 - he became the world champion as part of the Hungarian team. At the 1948 Olympics in London, Takash amazed everyone by winning gold in his signature event - shooting from 25 m with a rapid-fire pistol. Before the fight, Argentinean Carlos Diaz Valente, who was considered the favorite in this event, asked Takash, not without irony, why he came to the Olympics. Takash answered briefly: “To study.” During the award ceremony, Carlos, who took second place on the podium, sincerely admitted to him: “You learned well.”

Takash repeated his success at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics; he was the first two-time champion in the history of the Olympic Games. He also performed at the following games, but failed to become the champion of three Olympiads in a row.

Ildiko Uylaki-Reito (Hungary)(born in 1937). Participant in five Olympiads, two-time champion of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, winner of seven medals. The famous fencer, one of the strongest in the history of sports fencing, was born deaf. The physical deficiency was compensated by an incredible reaction. She started fencing at the age of 15. The coaches, who immediately appreciated the girl’s amazing talent, communicated with her in writing, conveying instructions through notes.

Ildiko's favorite weapon was the rapier. In 1956 she became the world champion among juniors, a year later she won the Hungarian adult championship, and in 1963 she became the world champion. At her first Olympic Games in Rome 1960, she won a silver medal in the team competition, and in Tokyo 1964 she rose to the top of her career: two golds, in the individual and team competition. At the next two Olympics she won four more medals - two silver and two bronze. In 1999, Ildiko became the world champion among veterans.

Liz Hartel (Denmark)(1921-2009). Silver medalist at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki and the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne (Stockholm). Hartel has loved horses since childhood and was passionate about dressage. However, after the birth of her daughter, she fell ill with polio and was partially paralyzed. But she didn’t give up her favorite sport and rode beautifully, although she couldn’t get into the saddle and leave it without help.

Until 1952, only men were allowed to participate in the Olympic Games in equestrian sports, mostly military men. But the rules were changed, and women received the right to compete in equestrian tournaments at any level on an equal basis with men. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, four women competed in dressage. Liz won a silver medal and became the first female Olympic medalist in equestrian competition. At the 1956 Games she repeated her success.

Liz Hartel lived a bright, eventful life. She raised two children, was involved in coaching and charity work, and founded special therapeutic equestrian schools in different countries. The therapeutic and rehabilitation direction of equestrian sport - hippotherapy - thanks to it, is popular all over the world.

Sir Murray Hallberg (New Zealand)(born 1933) In his youth, Halberg played rugby and was seriously injured during one of his matches. Despite extensive treatment, his left arm remained paralyzed. Murray took up running and within three years became the national champion. At the 1960 Olympics in Rome, he won the 5000 m and was fifth in the 10,000 m. Murray set four world records in 1961, and in 1962 became a two-time Commonwealth Games three-mile champion. He ended his career at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, where he finished seventh in the 10,000 m. After leaving sports, Halberg became actively involved in charity work. The Halberg Trust helps disabled child athletes.

In 1988, Halberg received a knighthood, and in 2008, the country's highest honor, the Order of New Zealand. The Halberg Awards are presented annually to New Zealand's most successful athletes.

Terry Fox (Canada)(1958-1981) - national hero of the country. He did not participate in the Paralympic Games, but inspired the exploits of many Paralympic athletes. After losing his leg at age 18 after cancer-related surgery, three years later he ran the “Marathon of Hope” around his country using a prosthetic leg, raising money for cancer research. In 143 days he covered more than 5000 km.

CHRONICLE OF THE SUMMER PARALYMPICS

I Summer Games (Rome, 1960)

The first ever Paralympic Games were opened by the wife of former Italian President Carla Gronchi, and Pope John XXIII received the participants in the Vatican. Only wheelchair athletes who had suffered a spinal cord injury participated in the Games. Archery, athletics, basketball, fencing, table tennis, swimming, as well as darts and billiards were represented.

II Summer Games (Tokyo, 1964)

The Games were able to be held in Japan thanks to the established connections between Japanese medical specialists and the Stoke Mandeville Ludwig Guttmann Center. Wheelchair races appeared in athletics: individual 60 m and relay races.

III Summer Games (Tel Aviv, 1968)

The Games were to be held in Mexico City immediately after the 1968 Olympics. But the Mexicans abandoned the Paralympics two years earlier, citing technical difficulties. Israel came to the rescue, organizing the competition at a high level. The main character was the Italian Roberto Marson, who won nine gold medals - three each in athletics, swimming and fencing.

IV Summer Games (Heidelberg, 1972)

This time the Games were held in the same country as the Olympics, but in a different city - the organizers rushed to sell the Olympic village for private apartments. For the first time, athletes with visual disabilities participated, they competed in the 100 m race. Goalball also appeared for them - for now as a demonstration event.

V Summer Games (Toronto, 1976)

For the first time, amputee athletes competed. The largest number of program types - 207 - were in athletics. Unusual competitions also appeared - wheelchair slalom and kicking a soccer ball for distance and accuracy. The hero was 18-year-old Canadian Arnie Bold, who lost his leg at the age of three. He showed an amazing technique for jumping on one leg: he won the high and long jumps, setting an incredible world record in the high jump - 186 cm. He participated in four more Paralympics and won a total of seven gold and one silver medals, and in 1980 he improved your achievement by another 10 cm - 196 cm!

VI Summer Games (Arnhem, 1980)

The games were supposed to be held in Moscow, but the leadership of the USSR did not want to enter into contacts on this issue, and they were moved to Holland. Sitting volleyball appeared in the program - volleyball players from the Netherlands became the first champions. The Americans won the team competition - 195 medals (75 gold). Here and below are the official data of the International Paralympic Committee.

VII Summer Games (Stoke Mandeville and New York, 1984)

Due to problems of interaction between the Organizing Committees of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the competitions were held in parallel in America and Europe: 1,780 athletes from 41 countries competed in New York and 2,300 from 45 countries in Stoke Mandeville. A total of 900 medals were awarded. If athletes of all categories competed in New York, then in Stoke Mandeville, according to tradition, only wheelchair athletes competed. The Americans again won the team competition - 396 medals (136 gold).

VIII Summer Games (Seoul, 1988)

This time, the Paralympic Games were again held on the same sports grounds and in the same city as the Olympic Games. The program included 16 sports. Wheelchair tennis was presented as a demonstration event. The hero of the Games was American swimmer Trisha Zorn, who won 12 gold medals - ten in individual swims and two relays. Soviet Paralympians competed only in athletics and swimming, but were able to win 56 medals in these events, including 21 gold, and take 12th team place.

Vadim Kalmykov won four gold medals in Seoul - in the high jump, long jump, triple jump and pentathlon.

IX Summer Games (Barcelona, ​​1992)

Wheelchair tennis has become an official sport. The CIS team won 45 medals, including 16 gold, and took eighth overall team place. And the US Paralympians won again, winning 175 medals, including 75 gold.

X Summer Games (Atlanta, 1996)

These Games were the first in history to receive commercial sponsorship. 508 sets of awards were raffled off in 20 program types. Sailing and wheelchair rugby were featured as demonstration sports.

Albert Bakarev became the first Russian wheelchair athlete to win a Paralympic gold medal in swimming at a competition in Atlanta. He had been swimming since childhood, but was seriously injured at the age of 20 when he unsuccessfully jumped into the water while on vacation. Returning to the sport, five years later he showed good results; in Barcelona 1992 he became a bronze medalist. In 1995 he won the world championship. In Sydney 2000 he won two medals - silver and bronze.

XI Summer Games (Sydney, 2000)

After these Games, it was decided to temporarily exclude athletes with intellectual disabilities from participation. The reason was the difficulties of medical control. The reason was the participation of several healthy athletes in the Spanish national basketball team. The Spaniards defeated Russia in the final, but the deception was exposed, however, the “gold” did not go to our basketball players, they remained silver medalists.

And the heroine of the Games was the Australian swimmer Siobhan Peyton, an athlete with an intellectual disability. She won six gold medals and set nine world records. The Australian Paralympic Committee named her Athlete of the Year and issued a postage stamp with her image. She received a state award - the Order of Australia. Siobhan studied at a regular school and was very worried about the fact that she was constantly teased, calling her “slow.” With her victories, she adequately responded to her offenders.

XII Summer Games (Athens, 2004)

There has never been such an abundance of records at any of the past Games. In swimming competitions alone, world records were broken 96 times. In athletics, world records were broken 144 times and Paralympic records 212.

In Athens, famous Paralympic veterans competed successfully, including the visually impaired American Trisha Zorn, who at the age of 40 won her 55th medal in swimming. A participant in six Games, she won almost every swimming event at them and simultaneously held nine Paralympic world records. Trisha also competed in able-bodied competitions and was a candidate for the US team for the 1980 Olympic Games.

The heroine of the Games was Japanese swimmer Mayumi Narita. The wheelchair athlete won seven gold and one bronze medal and set six world records.

XIII Summer Games (Beijing, 2008)

The hosts created all the conditions for the participants. Not only sports facilities and the Olympic Village, but also the streets of Beijing, as well as historical sites, were equipped with special devices for the disabled. China, as expected, took first place with 211 medals (89 gold). The Russians took eighth place - 63 (18). A good result, considering that our Paralympians competed in less than half of the program’s events.

The most medals - 9 (4 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze) - were won by Brazilian swimmer Daniel Diaz.

Another hero, Oscar Pistorius (South Africa), a runner on prosthetics, became a three-time Paralympic champion in Beijing. At 11 months old, he lost his legs due to a birth defect. The athlete uses specially designed carbon fiber prostheses for running and is now fighting for the right to participate on an equal basis with everyone else in the London 2012 Olympics. At least, in the courts, he seems to have defended this right.

TYPES OF PARALYMPIC SPORTS

Summer

Wheelchair basketball. The very first game type that was presented at the Summer Games. Teams have five players; the rules, with the exception of the fact that players move in wheelchairs, are close to the usual ones. In Beijing 2008, Australian basketball players became the winners.

Billiards. Classic billiards - snooker in a version for wheelchair users was presented at the Games in 1960 by one male game. The British won the gold and silver medals. The rules are not fundamentally different from the usual ones.

Struggle. Paralympic wrestling is closer to freestyle, participants are divided into weight categories. The Americans were the strongest in this event: in 1980 they won eight gold medals, and in 1984 - seven. Perhaps for this reason wrestling was replaced by judo.

Bocce. Variation of the Greek ball game. The rules are simple: the leather ball must be thrown as close as possible to the control white ball. The competition involves athletes with severe disabilities, men and women together; There are individual, pair and team options.

Cycling. The rules are not adapted specifically for athletes with disabilities, but additional protective equipment has been introduced. Wheelchair users compete on manual wheelchairs, and visually impaired athletes compete on tandem bicycles in pairs with sighted assistants. Men and women participate. The modern program includes road racing, as well as track sports: team, individual, pursuit, etc.

Volleyball. There are two varieties - standing and sitting. In Beijing, Russia competed in this event for the first time and won bronze medals.

Goalball. A ball game for blind athletes, in which you need to roll a large ball with a bell inside into the opponent's goal.

Academic rowing. Competitions are held in four types: men's and women's singles (athletes using only their hands participate), mixed doubles (with their arms and body) and mixed fours (with their legs).

Darts. This event, in a version for wheelchair users, was presented at the Paralympic Games from 1960 to 1980, but it is possible that it will return to the program.

Judo. In the Paralympic version, blind wrestlers (both men and women) grab each other before the signal to start the fight. In Beijing, Oleg Kretsul won a gold medal, the first for Russia.

Athletics. Running, jumping, throwing, all-around, as well as specific types - wheelchair racing. 160 types of programs were presented in Beijing. China takes first place with 77 medals (31 gold).

Horseback Riding. Competitions are held according to the compulsory program, free and team. 70 athletes took part in Beijing, including two representatives of Russia. Team Great Britain was out of competition - 10 medals (5 gold).

Lawn bowl (bowl game). The game is reminiscent of both golf and bowling, invented in England in the 12th century, and was part of the Paralympic Games from 1968 to 1988. The strongest athletes were invariably from Great Britain.

Table tennis. Wheelchair users (a ball crossing the side of the table after bouncing does not count) and amputees participate; there are single and team competitions. In Beijing, the hosts were beyond competition - 22 medals (13 gold).

Sailing. Men and women compete together in three classes of boats. In Beijing, Paralympians from the USA, Canada and Germany each won one gold medal.

Swimming. The rules are close to the usual ones, but there are changes. Thus, blind swimmers are informed about touching the wall of the pool. There are three starting options: standing, sitting and from the water.

Wheelchair rugby. Although both men and women participate, the game is tough and uncompromising. A volleyball is used that can be carried and passed by hand. Wheelchair rugby combines elements of basketball, football and ice hockey and is played on a basketball court. Special wheelchairs are used to soften the impact of collisions. The US team won gold in Beijing.

Power types. The most widespread exercise is powerlifting - the bench press. In Beijing, the Chinese became the best, winning 14 medals (9 gold).

Archery. The first Paralympic event was the start of the wheelchair competition, organized by Ludwig Guttman in Stoke Mandeville. The program includes team competitions, standing and sitting in a wheelchair.

Bullet shooting. Wheelchair users shoot while sitting in a wheelchair or lying down. Athletes are divided into two categories: those who use and those who do not use additional arm support. There are male, female and mixed types.

Dance sport. Wheelchair dance competitions are divided into three types - partner in a wheelchair, partner in a wheelchair, and both dancers in wheelchairs.

Wheelchair tennis. Men's and women's, singles and doubles competitions are held. The main difference from regular tennis is that the ball is allowed to bounce twice off the court.

Wheelchair fencing. The first type adapted for athletes with disabilities. The fundamental feature is that the strollers are secured on a special platform, and instead of leg movements, the body or only the arms are used.

Football 7x7. Competitions for athletes with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders, the degree of disability is strictly specified by the rules: impairments must interfere with normal play, and movement disorders are allowed, but it is necessary to maintain normal coordination in a standing position and when hitting the ball. In addition to the reduced size of the court and fewer players, there is no offside rule and one-handed throw-ins are allowed. Two halves of 30 minutes are played. Russian football players are champions of the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, medalists in 1996, 2004 and 2008.

Football 5x5. Game for blind and visually impaired athletes; close to goalball, but played standing up. There are four players on the team, and the goal is protected by a sighted coach-goalkeeper who directs the actions. The rattle ball game lasts 50 minutes. One team may have blind and visually impaired players; Blindfolds are required for everyone except the goalkeeper.

Winter

Biathlon. In 1988, only men with lower limb impairments participated in the competition. In 1992, events for athletes with visual impairments were added, which was made possible thanks to special audio electrical equipment created in Sweden. The diameter of the target for athletes with visual impairments is 30 mm, for athletes with musculoskeletal disorders - 25 mm. For each miss, a penalty minute is assigned.

Athletes' rifles are kept on the range and do not need to be carried. Shooting only while lying down. Athletes with visual impairments are provided with a guide to help them get into position and load the rifle.

Ski race. First, athletes with amputations (used special devices for poles) and with visual impairments (walked the distance with a guide) participated. Since 1984, wheelchair athletes have also competed in cross-country skiing. They moved on sit-on sled skis - the seat is fixed at a height of about 30 cm on two ordinary skis - and held short poles in their hands.

Skiing. Three-ski slalom was invented: athletes descend the mountain on one ski, using two additional skis attached to the ends of poles. Monoski competitions are designed for wheelchair users and are similar to snowboarding. In Turin 2006 there were 24 types of programs, 12 each for men and women.

Wheelchair curling. Unlike traditional curling, there are no sweepers. Teams are mixed and the five players must include at least one representative of each gender. Athletes compete in their usual wheelchairs. The stones are moved by special sliding sticks with plastic tips that cling to the handle of the stone.

Ice sledge racing. Paralympic analogue of speed skating for wheelchair athletes. Instead of skates, sleighs with runners are used.

Sledge hockey. Invented by three disabled people from Sweden who played wheelchair sports on frozen lakes. As in traditional hockey, six players (including the goalkeeper) from each team play. Players move around the field on sleds; The equipment includes two sticks, one of which is used for pushing off the ice and maneuvering, and the other for hitting the puck. The game consists of three periods lasting 15 minutes.

Evgeniy Gik, Ekaterina Gupalo

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The name “Paralympic Games” in the modern reading has nothing to do with paralysis or anything paranormal - it is just a short spelling of the phrase “Games parallel to the Olympic Games”, which reflects the connection and continuity of the two tournaments.

Like rock and roll and the atomic bomb, sports competitions for people with disabilities emerged after World War II. The soldiers who were injured at the front did not want to be deprived of the pleasures of peacetime, and an English neurosurgeon helped them with this Ludwig Guttmann. He led many to believe that sport could help people with disabilities live their lives to the fullest by organizing the first wheelchair tournament in 1948. On it, athletes competed in basketball, polo and archery, and in the latter discipline they repeated and even surpassed the results of ordinary shooters. Dr. Guttman found many like-minded people, so soon tournaments for people with special needs became a tradition and in 1960 received the status of the Paralympics, and 16 years later the first Winter Games in adaptive sports took place.

Interesting facts from the history of the Paralympic Games

1. Until 1948, athletes with disabilities competed in the general competition - theoretically this is still possible if their discipline is not included in the Paralympic program.

At the 1904 Summer Games, German-American gymnast George Acer, who lost his left leg as a child and competed on a wooden prosthesis, won six Olympic medals. Acer won all three Olympic golds on the same day.

Having lost his right arm to a grenade, a Hungarian pistol shooter Takács Karoly learned to shoot single left and broke the world record by winning gold at the 1948 Olympics. Four years later, he defended his title and became the world's only two-time Olympic champion with a disability.

There are no age restrictions in equestrian sports - the oldest Olympic medalist in equestrian eventing was 61 years old. It is not surprising that among equestrian athletes there are many people with physical disabilities. At the 1952 Olympics, a Danish rider Liz Hartel won two silver medals, becoming the first woman in equestrian history to step on the Olympic podium, although she was completely paralyzed from the knees down.

2. Some of the most unusual and scientifically surprising competitions at the Winter Paralympics are those that take place with the participation of blind and visually impaired athletes. For example, during downhill skiing, trainers and instructors ride ahead of them and guide the Paralympians along the track using a Bluetooth radio.

At this year's Games in Sochi, biathlon competitions for athletes with visual impairments were held for the first time. To hit targets, they use an optoelectronic rifle, which emits sound signals when aiming - the weaker the sound, the further the bullet's trajectory is from the bull's eye. Thanks to this technology, blind biathletes can hit a target with a diameter of 25 millimeters from a distance of 15 steps.

3.
The symbol of the Paralympics is three multi-colored swooshes, which in this case are called agito (“I move” in Latin). Red, blue and green were chosen because they are the most common colors found on national flags. This is already the third version of the Paralympic Games logo - the previous ones had to be abandoned because they were too similar to the Olympic symbols. Instead of five rings, the first Paralympic attributes featured five tai-geeks, halves of the yin-yang sign. Korean traditional symbols were chosen because the design was unveiled ahead of the 1988 Paralympics in Seoul.

4. Paralympic mascots often have physical disabilities themselves. For example, the troll Sondre, the mascot of the 1994 Winter Paralympic Games in Lillehammer, had one leg amputated, and Petra, who greeted guests at the Games in Barcelona in 1992, was missing both arms. Very often, the creators of the Paralympic mascots depict non-anthropomorphic characters who cannot have paired human arms or legs by nature.

5. Since 2012, the Paralympic Games have been held in the same year and in the same arenas as the Olympic Games, and usually immediately after them. In the few days between tournaments, the host country must refurbish the Olympic Village and all infrastructure for the Paralympics - not only wheelchair athletes and visually impaired athletes come to the Games, but also journalists, volunteers and fans with special needs.

6. The opening of the last Paralympic Games in Sochi was parasnowboarding, which was included in the official competition program this year. So far, athletes with disabilities are only competing in snowboard cross, but the committee is already looking at snowboard slalom ahead of the games in Pyongyang. The inclusion of extreme sports added entertainment to the Games, but also required increased safety measures for athletes. Since they have to jump and fall from great heights, their snowboards are equipped with air springs - the same as on Formula 1 cars.

7. The technological innovations of the Paralympics are not limited to sports equipment: scientists have already learned how to modify the bodies of Paralympians. New Zealand alpine skier Adam Hall, a Vancouver speed slalom gold medalist, underwent extensive testing for four years to improve his physical performance. Based on 3D scanning conducted by a company working with NASA on a Mars exploration project, Adam's legs and prosthetics were given a more ergonomic shape. This is the first case of biomechanical alignment in the history of sports medicine.

9. In preparation for the last Paralympics, many equipment manufacturers used 3D printing technology. For example, in this way, Toyota Motorsport created an improved monoski for seated downhill athletes, more streamlined and compact. It was further lightened with the help of new carbon fiber - the ski began to weigh 4 kilograms instead of the previous 5.5. Thanks to modern technologies, many Paralympic athletes were able to reach record speeds of 115–130 km/h on the Sochi tracks, which exceeds the average maximum speed of athletes without physical impairments.

Today, scientists from major corporations like Boeing are working on developments designed to compensate for the fragility of the human body. In just 50 years, Paralympic competitions equipped with bioprosthetics or unique means of transportation may well surpass the traditional Olympic Games in terms of entertainment and intensity of sporting passions.