Jump to main content
リオデジャネイロ・パラリンピック 閉会式 / 毎日フォトバンク

The Paralympics

The Paralympics is an international competition for top athletes with disabilities. It takes place in the same year, city and venue as the Olympics.

The Paralympics is an international competition for top athletes with disabilities. The Summer and Winter Paralympic Games are held in the same year as the Olympic Games, and, in principle, are held in the same city and venue.

The Paralympic Games originated in 1948 when Dr Ludwig Guttmann, of Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the UK, established an archery event to rehabilitate World War II veterans. Soon after, in 1952, it became an international competition. Since 1960, the Paralympic Games have been held once every four years, immediately following the Olympic Games. The word ‘paralympic’ was first used at the Tokyo Games in 1964. It is commonly thought to be derived from two words: ‘paraplegia’ (lower-body paralysis), and ‘Olympics’. However, ‘para’ now refers to ‘parallel’ (or ‘alongside’) referring both to the participation of people with different disabilities, and the fact it is held in parallel with the Olympic Games. Dr Guttmann's philosophy was “It is not what you have lost, but what you have left that counts.” 

Related People, Things and Events

Books

Find out more about the Paralympics

Individual competition events of the Paralympics

Related Works

The 1964 Tokyo Paralympics

Institutions Holding Related Materials

  • 東京都新宿区にあるオリンピックに関する博物館。日本オリンピック委員会が運営する。2階のパラリンピックコーナーでは、パラリンピックの歴史や、競技に関する展示がなされ、パラリンピックへの理解を深めることができる。

External Links

  • 日本パラリンピック委員会の公式ウェブサイト

  • 公益財団法人東京オリンピック・パラリンピック競技大会組織委員会の公式ウェブサイト

  • 公益財団法人日本障がい者スポーツ協会の公式ウェブサイト

References

  1. 中村太郎 著,岩波書店