Location
Birmingham, Uk
While the Olympics have just ended, the Paralympics are only just beginning.
In just 2 weeks the games will begin. It includes 539 events over 22 sports. Paralympics are always in the same year as the Olympics; the word even stands for parallel olympics. The opening ceremony will take place on Tuesday the 24th with sports starting the day after. The paralympic sports include:
{ ● Archery ● Athletics ● Badminton ● Boccia ● Canoe sprint ● Cycling road ● Cycling track
● Equestrian ● Football five-a-side ● Goalball ● Judo ● Powerlifting ● Rowing ● Shooting
● Sitting Volleyball ● Swimming ● Table tennis ● Taekwondo ● Trialathon
● Wheelchair basketball ● Wheelchair fencing ● Wheelchair rugby ● Wheelchair tennis }
Athletes are mainly divided into 5 groups. Those with problems with their eyesight, those with conditions that affect muscle coordination and control, wheelchair track athletes, wheelchair field athletes and athletes with limb conditions. Every sport has different physical demands so each athlete is given a combination of letters and numbers that guides which sports they can take part in.
The idea of the paralympic games was started after world war 2. It began as a British tournament for people who were injured in the war and grew into the international Olympic style event it is today. By 1976, athletes with other disabilities were included as well. In 1960, only 400 athletes from 23 countries took part in only 8 sports but now only 60 years later the number of athletes has increased by 11 times. The US won the last paralympics in Rio with 121 medals followed by Great Britain and China.
The motto of the Tokyo Paralympics is United by Emotion. It was chosen to express the game’s vision of diversity and celebrating differences. As of yet it is not yet decided if spectators will be allowed to watch the games. The games are expected to enhance Japan’s economy and social status. There is some controversy about whether the Olympics and Paralympics should be merged even though they are completely separate and are governed by different committees.
Some athletes in team GB to look out for are Jonnie Peacock, a runner, Kadeena Cox, a cyclist, Ellie Simmonds, a swimmer, Will Bayley, a table-tennis player and Hollie Arnold who plays javelin.
The opening ceremony will be on Tuesday 24th August at 8pm GMT.
