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Sport for athletes with an impairment has existed for more than 130 years, but it was not until after World War, II however, that it was widely introduced to assist the large number of war veterans and civilians who had been injured during wartime during their physical rehabilitation.

Over the years, it has evolved into a sport-based movement. The first competition for wheelchair athletes, named the Stoke Mandeville Games, was organised by Sir Ludwig Guttmann in 1948. The Games were held the same day as the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games and involved 16 injured servicemen and women who competed in archery. The event became international in 1952, when competitors from the Netherlands were invited to the first edition of the International Stoke Mandeville Games.

Alongside these Games for wheelchair athletes, sport for athletes with other impairments started to develop through the establishment of several disability-specific sports organisations; and in 1964, the International Sport Organisation for the Disabled (ISOD) offered opportunities to compete for those athletes (vision impaired, amputees, persons with cerebral palsy and paraplegics) who could not yet enter the Stoke Mandeville Games. Long discussions resulted in the inclusion for the first time of amputees and visually impaired athletes in the Toronto 1976 edition, and athletes with cerebral palsy at Arnhem 1980.

The term “Paralympic Games” was officially approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1984; and Rome 1960 (at the time the 9^th edition of the International Stoke Mandeville Games) and Ornskoldsvik 1976 (Sweden, at the time the 1^st Winter Olympic Games for the Disabled) were retrospectively recognised as the first editions of the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games.

It was only in 1989 that the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) was established as the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement, taking full responsibility over the Paralympic Games in 1994. The book “The Paralympic Games explained”, written by Ian Brittain, explains in detail all the steps that led to the creation of the IPC.

The Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games took place in the same cities and venues for the Games in Rome 1960 and in Tokyo in 1964, and then on a constant basis since Seoul 1988 for the Summer Games, and Albertville 1992 for the Winter Games, due to an agreement between the IOC and the IPC that became formal in 2001. The “One Bid, One City” agreement protected the organisation of the Paralympic Games, meaning that the staging of the Paralympics is automatically included in the bid for the Olympic Games.

The cooperation between the IOC and the IPC has continuously strengthened over the years, with the current agreement valid until 2032, bringing the cooperation between the two organisations to a historic level, with the objective to further the impact that their work has on society. You can consult all the details of the agreement here.

Today, the impact of the Paralympic Games goes beyond the world of sport. By improving awareness of and attitudes towards people with disabilities, creating a more inclusive society and providing better facilities that improve the quality of life for people with disabilities, the Paralympic Games offer a great opportunity for a host city to develop and further its legacy plans. The article “The political, economic, social and cultural significance of the Paralympics”, by Kazuo Ogoura, illustrates with many examples how the different editions of the Paralympic Games had an impact on society as a major sporting event.

To facilitate your research on this topic, we have compiled the most important official publications, an extensive list of links and a wide range of academic articles for you on this page.

This is just a selection of the resources available; so be sure to check out the full list of resources available in the Olympic World Library at the link at the bottom of the page or search in the full catalogue for other topics of interest.