In 1948, on the opening day of the London Olympics, Guttmann organized the first competition for disabled athletes, which he called International wheelchair games. Sixteen former servicemen and women competed in wheelchairs in archery during the Olympic Games.
Since then the Games have become an annual event, expanding every year to include a greater number of athletes. Javelin throwing was soon added to the list. The name has been changed to Stoke Mandeville matcheswhich was named after the hospital where Gutmann worked, and in 1952 the Netherlands sent its own team, making the competition international.
In 1960 i Stoke Mandeville matches They have officially become the Paralympics. That year, more than 400 disabled athletes from 23 countries gathered for the championships Olympic stadium Rome after the conclusion of the Summer Olympics. They competed in archery, basketball, swimming, fencing, javelin throwing, archery, club throwing, swimming, table tennis, pentathlon and even snooker.
Since then, the Paralympics have been held immediately after the Olympics in the same city hosting the Games. The name “Paralympics” (although they have been officially called “Paralympics” since 2004) reflects the parallel nature of the Games: they are derived from the Greek preposition “para”, which means “beside”. Thus the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games exist side by side.
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