When did the first Summer Paralympic Games take place? History of the Paralympic Games

From the history of the Paralympic Games

The Paralympics - the Olympic Games for disabled people - are considered in the world to be almost as outstanding an event as the Olympics itself.

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.

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, the International working group, which 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.

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 from other groups of injuries - 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 World Organization sports for disabled people. Ten years later, in 1992, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) became its successor. Currently, the International Paralympic Committee includes 162 countries.

Sports for the disabled received global significance. The achievements of athletes with physical disabilities are amazing. Sometimes they came close to Olympic records. In fact, there is not a single sport left, known and popular, in which disabled athletes did not take part. The number of Paralympic disciplines is steadily expanding.

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.

Paralympic sports
(Based on materials from the site http://www.paralympic.ru)

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 program of the International Paralympic Games includes singles, pairs and team competitions, and the judging and scoring procedures are identical to those used at the Olympic Games.

Athletics. The Paralympic Games athletics program includes widest spectrum 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 these days continues to improve. 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.

The fact that after each Olympics such competitions as the Paralympics are held in the same city and at the same sports facilities is known mostly to specialists. On public television, the main sporting events for people with disabilities disabilities, or more simply put, for people with disabilities, are shown rarely and not in full.

In Russia, the situation changed only starting with the Paralympic Games in London, which our team, by the way, won, ahead of everyone else in the unofficial medal standings. Even more attention will be focused on the Paralympics in Sochi - it’s not for nothing that the entire city was rebuilt, creating a barrier-free environment.

There is no such word

It is interesting that in the Russian language there is no such word as Paralympics at all - it is only a tracing paper from the English language, which has gained currency among the people and in official documentation. But in some dictionaries you can find the term Paralympics, which was included there at the dawn of the birth of sports competitions for people with diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Josh Dueck. Ski slalom. 2010 Paralympics in Canada. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

An English neurosurgeon became the progenitor of sports for the disabled Ludwig Guttmann, who used sports as a therapy for cerebral palsy. It is from the name of this disease that the term Paralympics comes from. Later, when disabled people with other dysfunctions began to take part in competitions, the term was given a different meaning - from the Greek “para”, which means “near” - next to the Olympics.

Symbol of the Paralympic Games. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Start

The father of the Paralympics is considered to be the same English doctor Guttman, who in 1948 organized sports competitions for British veterans who returned after the Second World War with spinal cord damage. This tournament was called the Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games - 1948.

Francesca Porcellato celebrates winning the ski sprint at the 2010 Paralympics. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

These games were held annually, and in 1952 they received international status thanks to the participation of Dutch veterans in them. In 1960, any disabled person with any illness or injury, even if he was not a war veteran, could take part in these games. The Games, like the Olympics, were held in Rome. Later, this competition would be awarded the title of the first Paralympic Games in history. 400 wheelchair athletes from 23 countries competed in Rome.

Winter

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.

Cameron Rahles-Rahbula in the men's giant slalom at the Paralympic Games in Canada. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

The next turning point in the Paralympic movement was the 1988 Summer Paralympic Games, which were held at the same venues as the Olympic competitions. The 1992 Winter Paralympics took place in the same city and arenas as the Olympic competition.

However, this condition was fixed on paper only in 2001, when the corresponding document was signed by the heads of the Olympic and Paralympic Committees.

Sochi 2014

In Sochi, the Paralympic Games will be held after the Olympics - from March 7 to 14, 2014. Ray and Snowflake were chosen as the mascots of the Paralympic Games. The Paralympic Games will be held in the same arenas that will be used for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Medals of the Sochi Paralympics. Photo: Alexey Filippov, RIA Novosti

The Russian team hopes to take first place at home games. And not without reason. At the last Paralympics, which took place in Vancouver in 2010, the Russian team was in second overall team place in the unofficial medal standings, behind the winners - Germany - by only one gold medal, ahead of the number of silver and bronze.

A total of 64 sets of awards were played in five sports.

Kinds of sports

By the way, the Paralympics in Sochi will be the most medal-intensive - 72 sets of medals in six sports.

To the five previously existing sports, which included sledge hockey, wheelchair curling, biathlon, cross-country skiing and alpine skiing, another one was added - para-snowboarding.

Wheelchair curling. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

In the first Paralympic Games, the program consisted of only two sports - alpine skiing and cross-country skiing. However, this had virtually no effect on the number of medal sets played out, of which there were 53. The Soviet Union did not take part in the competition. A total of 198 amputees and visually impaired athletes from 16 different countries took part in those games.

Today the number of participating countries is approaching sixty, and the number of participants has exceeded 500 people.

The development of sports for people with disabilities has more than hundred year history. 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 first attempts to involve disabled people in sports were made in the 19th century, when, in 1888, the first sport Club for the deaf. First " Olympic Games for the deaf ” were held in Paris on August 10-17, 1924. They were attended by athletes - representatives of official national federations Belgium, Great Britain, Holland, Poland, France and Czechoslovakia. 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.

The International Sports Committee for the Deaf (ISDC) was formed on August 16, 1924. It included federations that unite athletes with hearing impairments. At the first congress of the ISKG, which took place in Brussels on October 31, 1926, the Charter of this organization was adopted. However, since 1924, the ICD has held the World Deaf Games in the summer every four years. Before the start of the Second World War, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Austria, the USA and Japan joined it.

In 1949, Spain and Yugoslavia joined them. The International Winter Games of the Deaf are organized and held. The competition program for athletes with hearing impairments and the rules for conducting them are identical to the usual ones. The peculiarity is that the actions of the arbitrators must be visible. For this purpose, for example, lights are used in starting signals. A positive factor that simplifies the organization of competitions is the use by athletes of the international dactylological system, which allows them to freely communicate with each other without translators.

Disabled people with injuries to the musculoskeletal system began to actively participate in sports only after the Second World War. In 1944, at the Center for the Rehabilitation of Patients with Spinal Injuries in Stoke Mandeville A sports program was developed as a mandatory part of complex treatment. Its creator, professor Ludwig Guttmann , eventually became director of the Stoke Mandeville Center and president of the British International Organization for the Treatment of Disabled People with Musculoskeletal Disabilities.

In subsequent years, not only the number of participants increased, but also the number of sports. 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. The lack of a necessary governing body that would coordinate and determine the direction of development of competitions for disabled people led to the creation of the International Stoke Mandeville Federation, which established a close relationship with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). During the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956, the IOC awarded the Stoke Mandeville International Federation a special cup for realizing the Olympic ideals of humanism. Gradually the world became convinced that sport was not the prerogative of healthy people. Disabled people, even with such serious injuries as spinal damage, can take part in competitions if they wish.

SUMMER PARALYMPIC GAMES

First Paralympic Games took place in the Italian capital Rome in 1960. The opening ceremony of the Games took place on September 18 at the AquaAcetosa stadium, where five thousand spectators were present. 400 athletes from 23 countries took part in the competition. 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 II Paralympic Games (Tokyo, Japan, 1964) 390 athletes from 22 countries took part. Teams from Great Britain (70 people) and the USA (66 people) were represented by the largest number of athletes. New sports were included in the Games program, in particular, wheelchair riding, weightlifting and discus throwing. 144 medals were awarded. In terms of the number of medals won, the clear leaders in the unofficial team event were US athletes. Teams from Great Britain and Italy took second and third places.
A significant event of the Games was their renaming to “ Paralympic " Paralympic attributes (flag, anthem and symbol) were used for the first time at the competition, and after the competition, many disabled athletes from Japan were employed.

IN III Paralympic Games (Tel Aviv, Israel, 1968) 750 athletes from 29 countries participated. Compared to the competitions in Tokyo, the Games program has expanded significantly. Classification changes have been introduced in competitions in some sports, for example, basketball, swimming and athletics.

R. Marson from Italy became the hero of the Games in Israel. Having won two gold medals in athletics in Tokyo (1964), the athlete was actively involved in swimming and fencing. At the Games in Tel Aviv, R. Marson won 9 gold medals in three sports. Athlete L. Dod from Australia set three world records in swimming in one day. E. Owen from the USA won 7 medals of various denominations in several sports. At the end of the 1968 Paralympic Games, the United States topped the unofficial team standings. Paralympians from Great Britain came second, and Israel came third.

IN IV Paralympic Games (Heidelberg, Germany, 1972) 1000 athletes from 44 countries participated. The largest delegations are represented by Germany, Great Britain and France. New sports and disciplines have been introduced into the competition program for athletes of various disability groups: goalball, 100 m running for athletes with visual impairments, etc. During the Games, several world records were set, in particular in swimming, where special technical means were used for the first time. American and German athletes won the largest number of medals. With a large gap from the leaders, the third unofficial team place was taken by the athletes Republic of South Africa(SOUTH AFRICA).

IN V Paralympic Games (Toronto, Canada, 1976) 1,600 athletes (253 of them women) from 42 countries participated. As a sign of protest against the participation of South African athletes in them, representatives of some countries did not come to the Games. For the first time, 261 amputee athletes and 167 visually impaired athletes competed in Paralympic competitions.

The competition program has been significantly expanded - wheelchair riding for 200, 400, 800 and 1500 m. In terms of the number of medals in the unofficial team event, US athletes won the first team place by a large margin from other countries. The second and third places were taken by the teams of the Netherlands and Israel.

The opening ceremony VI Paralympic Games (Anchem, the Netherlands, 1980) took place at the Papendal stadium in the presence of 12 thousand spectators. 2,500 athletes from 42 countries took part in the competition. The expanded classification of disabled athletes made it possible to compete for more than 3 thousand medals. For the first time, the program of the Paralympic Games included sitting volleyball, as well as competitions for four groups of athletes with disabilities. Goalball for athletes with visual impairments has become a Paralympic sport. An International Coordination Committee has been formed for the Games. The first, second and third places in the unofficial team competition were taken, respectively, by the teams of the USA, Germany and Canada.

VII Paralympic Games 1984 took place in America and Europe: 1,780 athletes from 41 countries competed in New York and 2,300 representatives from 45 countries in Stoke Mandeville. 900 medals were awarded at the Games. Funding came from public and private sources. A significant portion of subsidies is provided through information Agency by the US government. The main representatives of the funds mass media There were the BBC, Dutch, German and Swedish television companies.
More than 80 thousand spectators watched the competitions in 13 sports in New York. Representatives of each disability group showed significant results at the Games. As a result, the US team won 276 medals, taking first place in the unofficial team event, and the British athletes took second place with 240 medals. In Stoke Mandeville, competitions were held in 10 sports. Installed a large number of world and Paralympic records, especially in athletics. The Paralympic Games in Stoke Mandeville, despite the short period of preparation (4 months), were a significant success. The competition organizers agreed on the need for athletes from all four disability groups to participate in the Paralympic Games.

On VIII Paralympic Games (Seoul, South Korea, 1988) a record number of athletes arrived - 3053 representatives from 61 countries. Participated in the Games for the first time USSR team . Athletes, coaches and technical staff were housed in a specially equipped village, which included 10 residential buildings with 1,316 apartments. International Coordinating Committee President James Brohman proposed a new Paralympic flag for the Games. The program included 16 sports. Wheelchair tennis is presented as a demonstration sport. In Seoul, individual athletes won several medals in different types sports First place in the unofficial team event was taken by the US team (268 medals), second by Germany (189 medals), and third by Great Britain (179 medals).

The opening ceremony IX Paralympic Games (Barcelona, ​​Spain, 1992) took place on September 3 at the Olympic Stadium. It was attended by 65 thousand spectators; 90 delegations took part in the ceremonial parade. The Olympic Village housed approximately 3,000 athletes and thousands of coaches, officials and managers. All necessary types of medical care were organized for the athletes.

Over 12 days, athletes competed in 15 sports. During the Games, about 1.5 million spectators attended various competitions. 3020 athletes participated in the Games, approximately 50% of total number athletes competed in swimming and athletics. 279 world records were set and 431 gold medals were awarded. After the Paralympic Games in Barcelona, ​​competitions were held in Madrid for athletes with intellectual disabilities.

On X Paralympic Games (Atlanta, USA, 1996) 3,195 athletes (2,415 men and 780 women) and 1,717 representatives of delegations from 103 countries arrived. From August 16 to 25, competitions were held in 20 sports, of which 3 were demonstration sports. For the first time, 56 athletes with violations mental abilities participated in athletics and swimming competitions. The games were held at a high organizational level. About 400,000 spectators attended the competition. Approximately 60 thousand spectators were present at the opening and closing of the Games. The competition was covered in the media by 2,088 accredited journalists, of which: 721 in newspapers and magazines, 806 on radio and television, 114 in photographs.

IN XI Paralympic Games In 2000, 3,843 athletes from 127 countries, 2,000 officials, 1,300 media representatives, 1,000 technical workers, 2,500 guests from the International and National Committees and 10 thousand volunteers participated. The most representative teams in terms of the number of participating athletes were the teams of Australia (303), USA (288), Germany (262), Spain (224), Great Britain (219), Canada (172), France (158), Japan (157), Poland (114) and Holland (105). Russia was represented by 90 athletes. Of the sports, the most representative in terms of the number of athletes who entered the competition were: athletics - 1043 athletes, swimming - 570, powerlifting - 278, table tennis - 270, wheelchair basketball - 240, road cycling - 177, track cycling -152, sitting volleyball - 140, shooting - 139, goalball - 116. Russian athletes took part in 10 sports: athletics (22 athletes), swimming (20), basketball for athletes with intellectual disabilities (12), powerlifting (11), football (11), judo (b), shooting (5), equestrian (1), tennis (1), table tennis (1) and took overall team 14th place out of 125 participating countries.

XII Paralympic Games took place in Athens (Greece) from September 17 to September 28, 2004. . 3,800 athletes from 136 countries competed for Paralympic medals over 11 days. Russian team won 16 gold, 8 silver and 17 bronze medals at the Paralympic Games in Athens, finishing 11th in the team event. The final victory was won by Chinese athletes with disabilities, whose assets included: total 141 medals (63 of which are of the highest value). The UK team is in second place, and Canada is in third place.

Beijing XIII Paralympics (China. 6-17 09. 2008) became one of the most representative in the history of the Paralympic movement. More than 4 thousand athletes took part in it. 148 countries were represented at the Games. The largest team was China - 332 Paralympians. Russia brought 145 athletes to China, four leaders who run ahead of blind athletes and one reserve athlete to participate in rowing. The largest number of Russian athletes are track and field athletes (39 people) and swimmers (34), 25% of the team members have visual impairments, 75% have musculoskeletal impairments, including 16 wheelchair users.

Following the results of the Games, the Russian team won 63 medals (18 gold, 23 silver and 22 bronze), taking eighth place in the team event. In terms of the total number of medals, our compatriots managed to enter the top six. In total, Russians competed in 13 out of 20 sports. In addition to athletics and swimming, six awards were won in judo (1-0-5 - 7th place in the team event), six - in shooting (2-1-3 - 3rd place), four - in powerlifting (0 -4-0 – 8th place), two – in table tennis (1-1-0 – 7th place), one each in football (0-1-0 – 3rd place) and in volleyball ( 0-0-1 – 5th place).

In the overall team competition, the Chinese team won an unconditional victory, winning 211 medals - 89 gold, 70 silver, 52 bronze. The British were second (42-29-31), who were up to last day The Americans were tense, finishing third (36-35-28). The top six also included the teams of Ukraine (24-18-32), Australia (23-29-27) and South Africa (21-3-6).

XIV Paralympic Games took place in London (Great Britain) from August 29 to September 9, 2012. These are the largest competitions in the entire history of the Paralympic movement: more than 4,200 athletes from 166 countries took part in 20 sports, and 503 sets of medals were awarded.
To the team Russian Federation included 162 athletes with disabilities (musculoskeletal disorders, hearing impairment, mental disorders) from 42 constituent entities of the Russian Federation (the official delegation included 313 people). Russian athletes competed in 12 sports and won 36 gold, 38 silver and 28 bronze medals, taking 2nd overall team place in the unofficial competition.

Representatives of China became the first, they climbed to the highest step of the podium 95 times, 71 to the second and 65 to the third. The hosts of the competition took third place - the British team won 120 medals - 34 gold, 43 silver and the same number of bronze. The top ten strongest countries in the world also included Ukraine (32, 24, 28), Australia (32, 23, 30), USA (31, 29, 38), Brazil (21, 14, 8), Germany (18, 26, 22 ), Poland (14, 13, 9) and the Netherlands (10, 10, 19).

WINTER PARALYMPIC GAMES

First Winter Paralympic Games took place in 1976 in Ornskoldsvik (Sweden). Competitions for amputees and visually impaired athletes were organized on the track and in the field. For the first time, sleigh racing competitions were demonstrated.

The successful holding of the first Winter Games made it possible to organize second Paralympic competition in 1980 in Geilo (Norway). Downhill sledding was held as a demonstration performance. Athletes of all disability groups took part in the Paralympic competitions.

III Winter Paralympic Games were held in Innsbruck (Austria) in 1984. For the first time, 30 men on three skis took part in giant slalom.

In 1988 IV Winter Paralympic Games again held in Innsbruck (Austria). 397 athletes from 22 countries took part in the competition. Arrived at the Games for the first time athletes from the USSR. Sit skiing competitions were introduced into the Games program.

In 1992 V Winter Paralympic Games were held in Tignes, Albertville, France. Competitions were held only in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and biathlon. USSR athletes competed under a unified flag. For the first time, athletes with ODA violations took part in the Paralympics. The national team took third place at the games in the team competition. The skiers performed most successfully, winning 10 gold, 8 silver and 3 bronze medals.

VI Winter Paralympic Games were held in 1994 in Lillehammer (Norway). Approximately 1,000 athletes lived in the village, where there were special technical facilities for the disabled. At the Games, sit-hockey competitions were demonstrated for the first time. The Paralympic version of hockey has proven popular. Cross-country skiing and biathlon competitions took place at the local ski stadium. The Russians performed successfully at the games. Alexey Moshkin won gold and bronze in alpine skiing disciplines. Our skiers have 10 gold, 12 silver and 8 bronze medals in racing (3 team events), one gold and two silver in biathlon, bronze in the men's relay.

VII Winter Paralympic Games were held for the first time on the Asian continent - in Nagano (Japan). 1146 people took part in the Games. (571 athletes and 575 officials) from 32 countries. Over the course of 10 days, medals were played out in 5 sports: alpine skiing, speed skating, cross-country skiing, biathlon and hockey. Athletes from 22 countries stood on the podium at these games. For the first time, ID skiers participated in the Paralympics. Norwegian athletes repeated the success of the previous Games and in the unofficial standings took first place as a team (18 gold medals), Germany took second (14 gold medals), and the United States took third (13 gold medals). Our team was fifth, winning 12 gold, 10 silver and 9 bronze medals.

VIII Winter Paralympic Games , Salt Lake City (USA, Utah), March 7-16, 2002
36 teams – 416 athletes – took part in the Games. Athletes from China, Andorra, Chile, Greece and Hungary arrived for the first time. The US team was the largest - 57 people. The Japanese team is in second place with 37 athletes. The teams of Germany, Canada and Norway each had 27 athletes. Russia was represented by 26 athletes. Athletes from 22 countries won medals of various denominations. In the unofficial team competition, the Russian team took 5th place, winning a total of 21 medals - 7 gold, 9 silver and 5 bronze. Our skiers won 7 gold medals, 8 silver and 3 bronze medals, losing only to the Norwegians.

IX Paralympic Games , Turin (Italy), 10 - 19.03.06. 486 athletes from 39 countries took part in the Games. They competed for 58 sets of medals in five disciplines - alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, hockey and curling. The Russian team confidently won the medal standings at the Paralympics. Domestic athletes have won 13 gold, 13 silver and 7 bronze medals.

X Paralympic Games , Vancouver (Canada), 12 - 21.03.2010. 650 athletes from more than 40 countries took part in the Games. 64 sets of medals of various denominations were played in 5 sports. The Russian team came second in the team competition, winning 38 medals – 12 gold, 16 silver and 10 bronze. The German team won thanks to more gold awards (13-5-6). The third place was taken by the Canadian team (10-5-4), fourth by Slovakia (6-2-3), fifth by Ukraine (5-8-6), sixth by the USA (4-5-4). In terms of the total number of awards, the Russians confidently took first place, updating the national record at the Paralympics (38). Previously, our compatriots have not won more than 33 awards. The second in the overall medal ranking was the German team (24), third were the Canadians and Ukrainians (19 each).

At the end of the Paralympic Games in biathlon, the Russians won the overall team victory, winning five gold, seven silver and four bronze medals. The top three included teams from Ukraine (3-3-4) and Germany (3-0-2). In cross-country skiing, the Russians also celebrated victory (7-9-6), leaving behind the Canadians (3-1-1) and the Germans (3-1-0). In alpine skiing, the German national team took precedence (7-4-4), and the top three included the teams of Canada (6-4-3) and Slovakia (6-2-3). In hockey, the top three are the USA (1-0-0), Japan (0-1-0) and Norway (0-0-1), in curling – Canada (1-0-0), South Korea (0-1 -0) and Sweden (0-0-1).

The most titled Russian at the Paralympics was Irek Zaripov, who won four golds and one silver in cross-country skiing and biathlon. Kirill Mikhalov has three gold medals, Anna Burmistrova and Sergei Shilov have two each. The most titled athletes of the Games should be recognized as Canadian alpine skier Lauren Wolstencroft and German skier and biathlete Verena Bentele, who achieved a unique achievement - five victories in the five events in which they competed.

XI Paralympic Games. Sochi (Russia), 0 7 - 16. 03 2014 . 610 athletes (including 63 leading athletes) from 45 countries took part in the games. These Games were a record in terms of the number of countries represented and the number of participants. Russian Paralympians took part in the sledge hockey and wheelchair curling competitions for the first time.

The Russian sports delegation consisted of 197 people, including 67 athletes, 11 athletes leading blind sports, 119 coaches, specialists, doctors, massage therapists, employees of complex scientific groups, lubricants accompanying athletes with severe disabilities, prosthetic repair mechanics, etc. - This is the largest Russian delegation in the entire history of the national team’s participation in the Paralympic Winter Games.

The 2014 Games program includes new disciplines: short-distance biathlon (6 sets of medals) and Paralympic snowboard cross (2 sets of medals).

The Russian Paralympic team took 1st place in the unofficial team event, athletes won 30 gold, 28 silver and 22 bronze medals (80 in total) in biathlon, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, sledge hockey, and wheelchair curling. No medals were won in the new sport for Russian Paralympians - snowboarding. The gap in medals from the closest sports rival, the German national team, was 21 gold medals.

The Russian Paralympic team won maximum amount medals for its history of participation in the Paralympic Winter Games since 1994.

In terms of the total number of medals won, Russian athletes set a record that surpassed the achievement of the Austrians at the 1984 Paralympic Games in Innsbruck (70 medals, including 34 gold, 19 silver, 17 bronze).

The six-time winner of the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games was Roman Petushkov from Moscow in the biathlon disciplines: 7.5 km, 12.5 km, 15 km; cross-country skiing: 15 km, sprint, open relay among men with disabilities of the musculoskeletal system, competing while sitting.

Three-time winners of the Games were:
Lysova Mikhalina (cross-country skiing: sprint; biathlon: 6 km, 10 km - among women with visual impairments), who also won three silver medals at the Paralympics;
Alena Kaufman (cross-country skiing: mixed relay; biathlon: 6 km, 10 km – among women with musculoskeletal disorders, competing standing), who also won a silver and bronze medal at the Games;
Elena Remizova (cross-country skiing: 15 km, 5 km, mixed relay among women with visual impairments), who also won a silver medal.

In addition, 5 Russian athletes became champions of the Paralympic Games: Yulia Budaleeva, Azat Karachurin, Kirill Mikhailov, Grigory Murygin, Alexander Pronkov.

Among significant events Games:
The absolute Paralympic Games record was set by Roman Petushkov (Moscow, coach – Honored Trainer of Russia Irina Aleksandrovna Gromova), who won six gold medals.

For the first time in the history of the Paralympic Winter Games, Russian alpine skiers Alexandra Frantseva and Valery Redkozubov (with visual impairment), as well as Alexey Bugaev (with a musculoskeletal impairment, standing) became champions in slalom and super combination.

For the first time in the history of the Paralympic Games, the Russian national sledge hockey team and the Russian national wheelchair curling team won silver medals.

Our biathletes achieved particular success, winning 12 gold medals out of a possible 18. After an extremely weak performance at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, the alpine skiers performed brilliantly, winning first overall team place and 16 medals.

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 bodies state power, being a carbon copy of the official name (IOC) on English language- 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 above mentioned Federal law writing the specified words brought into compliance 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, which was originally aimed at treating and rehabilitating people with disabilities, has become a sporting event top level, in connection with which the need arose to create 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 coordination council transferred his powers to him.

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).

In 1978 it was created International Association Sports and Physical Education for Persons with Cerebral Palsy (SP-ISPA), followed in 1981 by the International Federation of Blind Sports (IBSA) and in 1986 by the International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (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, MFSMI, SP-ISRA, IBSA and ISOD joined forces to create International Committee for the coordination of sport for persons with disabilities 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 to expand national representation and create a movement, in to a greater extent sport-oriented, 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 six IOCDs, which are considered founding members of the IPC, and forty-two National Paralympic Committees and National organizations sports for the disabled. They approved the first IPC Constitution and elected the first President, Dr. Robert Steadward from Canada. Only five years later, in 1994, the IPC took over full responsibility for hosting 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 belonging to the NPCs, IOSD, International Sports Federations (IFS), Regional organizations(RO), IPC Sports Committees, IPC Councils, IPC Standing Committees, as well as other persons and other organizations that agree to be governed by the IPC Constitution and Regulations. 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 the first structure professional staff. The official opening of the new headquarters took place on September 3, 1999.