Alpine skiing for people with disabilities began to develop after World War II, when wounded soldiers returning from the front wanted to be able to continue their favorite sport. Slalom and giant slalom competitions were included in the first Paralympic Winter Games in 1976. Downhill competitions were held for the first time at the Paralympic Games in Innsbruck in 1984 and super giant was added in 1994 in Lillehammer.
The Paralympic Games are the second largest sports competition after the Olympic Games. With each edition, the number of those wishing to compete in the Games gets larger and larger. For example, in 1960 400 athletes from 23 countries participated in the Games. For the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, however, these figures have substantially increased to 4200 athletes from 160 countries. Over the years, the number of Paralympic sport disciplines has grown from 57 to 471.
The 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing became the most representative in the history of the Paralympic Movement: Almost 4,000 athletes from 146 countries competed in these Games.
The first Paralympic Winter Games took place in 1976 in ?rnsk?ldsvik, Sweden. Track and field competitions were organized for athletes with limb amputations and visual impairments. Additionally, the first showing of ice-sled racing took place during these Games.
There are six official disability groups that make up the Paralympic Movement: athletes with amputations, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, visual impairments and spinal cord injuries, as well as a group including other types of disabilities not covered in the previous five groups.
The idea behind the Paralympic Games is credited to German neurologist Ludwig Guttmann. In 1948, Guttmann organized a sports competition for World War II veterans at the Center for rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries Stoke-Mandeville Hospital in the UK. By 1953, the number of competitors in the Stoke-Mandeville Games had grown to 130, which attracted the attention of representatives from the Olympic Movement.
There is no age limit for Paralympic Games participants. For example, American cyclist Barbara Buken won gold at the Games in Beijing at age 52. Previously, she was a professional athlete and member of the US national team. After an accident on the track, Buken suffered serious injuries and underwent a total of five brain operations. Despite this, the cyclist found the inner strength to return to major sports and compete in the Paralympic Games.
The first Paralympic Games were held in 1960 in Rome. At that time, Italy had the largest delegation of athletes. The Games program in Rome consisted of eight sports, including light athletics, swimming, fencing, basketball, archery and table tennis. Participants in these events were athletes with spinal cord injuries.
The official title of “Paralympic Games” was adopted during the II Paralympiad in 1964 in Tokyo, which included the participation of 390 athletes from 22 countries. Additionally, more sports disciplines were included in the program, particularly wheelchair, weightlifting and discus. These competitions also witnessed the first-ever use of Paralympic attributes: the flag, anthem and symbol of the Games.
Adaptive snowboarding, created by the Canadian Snowboard Federation, is a sport discipline in which the equipment, rules and technical standards are adapted for people with disabilities. The inclusion of adaptive snowboarding in the Paralympic Winter Games program is currently under consideration.