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_-_2024-07-27_-_25.jpg) The Paralympic cauldron in Paris during the 2024 Summer Paralympics. | |
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| Paralympic Games |
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| Main topics |
| Games |
| Regional games |
The Summer Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Paralympic Games are held every four years, organized by the International Paralympic Committee. Medals are awarded in every event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that the Olympic Games started in 1904.
The United States, United Kingdom and Japan have each hosted the Summer Paralympic Games twice. Another eleven countries hosted the summer Paralympics once, this list includes: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, South Korea and Spain.
As of the 2024 Summer Paralympics, fourteen countries have competed in every edition of the Summer Games: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States were represented at all Summer Paralympic Games. From this list, around 6 achieved gold medals in all editions until 2024: Australia, France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and the United States.
The United States was the top-ranking (medals) nation for eight Paralympic Summer Games: 1964, 1968, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996. China was the top-ranking nation for the six most recent Games, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024. Three other countries managed to achieve this position at least once: Italy (1960), Germany (1972) and Australia (2000).