The Paralympic Games had their origins in the UK just after the end of the Second World War.
Did you know?
The name ‘Paralympic’ comes from the Greek word ‘para’ which means ‘beside’ or ‘alongside’? The name means a competition held in parallel with the Olympic Games.
History of the Paralympic Games
In 1944, a doctor, Sir Ludwig Guttmann, was working with war veterans with spinal injuries when he started to think about using sport to help them. He was convinced that making them more active would help re-motivate them after serious injury.
So, at the same time as the London Olympic Games in 1948, he organised the first wheelchair Games at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire. Four years later international competitors started to come to the event and interest grew. By 1984, more than 1,000 athletes from 41 countries were competing in 14 sports.
Over time, the Games gained the official title of the Paralympic Games and were staged to coincide with the Olympic Games in Rome and Tokyo. Now, the Paralympic Games always happen in the same year as the Olympic Games, but it is only since 1988 that they have also used the same venues, such as stadia and other facilities.
The Paralympic Games are coming home
The London Paralympic Games will begin on 29 August 2012, when athletes with a disability will compete in 20 different sports.
Staging the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games will be a fantastic experience for London.
British Paralympic Association Chief Executive Phil Lane said:
“The UK is passionate about Paralympic sport. The movement was born here, at Stoke Mandeville, so it feels as if the Paralympic Games are coming home.”
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