The Paralympic Games are an international competition held for people with physical disabilities. The name is a portmanteau of the words paralyzed and olympics and its purpose is to highlight the athletic achievements of the physically disabled. Both the summer and winter events of the Paralympic Games are held in the same year and at the same venues of the Olympic Games.

In 1948 in Stoke Mandeville, England, Sir Ludwig Guttmann organized a sports competition that involved veterans of World War II with spinal cord injuries. In 1952, competitors from the Netherlands joined the games. In Rome in 1960, the games were modeled after the Olympic Games and named the Paralympic Games. That year, the competition included 400 athletes from 23 countries.

In Toronto in 1976, people from different disability groups were added for the first time to the Paralympic Summer Games. Also that year, the Paralympic Winter Games were held in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. In Athens in the summer of 2004, the Paralympic Games involved over 3800 athletes from 136 countries.

The Paralympic Games are held in the same year as the Olympic Games. In 1988 at the Seoul Summer Games and in 1992 at the Alberta Winter Games, the events were also held at the same venue and have been ever since as a result. This was due to an agreement between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

The IPC was founded in 1989, and is responsible for organizing, supervising and coordinating the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games. The IPC’s vision is to “to enable paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and inspire and excite the world.”

The paralympic athletes originally consisted only of those in wheelchairs. Now, athletes with visual impairments, cerebral palsy and amputations are included. The Special Olympic World Games are a separate event from the Paralympics, and are held for people with intellectual disabilities.

The Paralympic Games host around 25 different sporting events. The summer events of the Paralympic Games include: Archery, Volleyball, Athletics, Judo, Wheelchair Basketball, Boccia, Wheelchair Fencing, Cycling, Sailing, Equestrian, Shooting, Wheelchair Tennis, Football 5-a-Side, Football 7-a-Side, Swimming, Table Tennis. Four of the summer events are unique to the Paralympic Games: Boccia, Goalball, Powerlifting and Wheelchair Rugby. The winter events of the Paralympic Games include: Alpine Skiing, Nordic Skiing, Ice Sledge Hockey and Wheelchair Curling.