Now retired, Kosmala competed across 12 Paralympic Games between 19, winning 12 medals in the sport (nine golds and three silvers) and a bronze in swimming. Australian shooting Para sport athlete Libby Kosmala was the oldest Paralympian at 74 in Rio. In shooting Para sport air rifle events, athletes fire at a bulls-eye that is only 0.05cm wide - which is as big as a full-stop on a printed page!Ģ0. It was even one of the eight sports at the inaugural Games in Rome in 1960.ġ9. Dartchery, which could best be described as a combination between darts and archery, once was part of the Paralympic programme. Coming in at 2:46m, he is the second tallest man in the world and gold medallist in Rio 2016.ġ8. Tallest Paralympian is Iran’s sitting volleyball Morteza Mehrzad. He made his Paralympic debut in Arnhem, Netherlands, in 1980 at age 15, and retired after Rio 2016 at 51, having competed at 10 consecutive Games.ġ7. Swedish shooting Para sport athlete Jonas Jacobsson is the most decorated male Paralympian with 27 medals, 17 gold. US swimmer Trischa Zorn is the most decorated Paralympian with 55 medals, 32 being gold. While Great Britain dominated canoe with three golds across six events, USA ended top of the standings in the latter sport thanks to two golds, one silver and one bronze.ġ5. Canoe and triathlon made their Paralympic debuts at Rio 2016. The International Paralympic Committee was founded in 1989 to act as the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement.ġ4. The Stoke Mandeville Games later became the Paralympic Games, which first took place in Rome, Italy, in 1960 featuring 400 athletes from 23 countries.ġ3. The first edition of the Stoke Mandeville Games – predecessor of the Paralympics - was held on 29 July 1948, with 16 injured servicemen and women competing in archery.ġ2. The Paralympic Games were founded by Sir Ludwig Guttmann, a Jewish doctor who fled Nazi Germany to England, where he opened a spinal injuries centre at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital.ġ1. All top four finishers in the Rio 2016 Paralympic 1,500m T13 final, won by Algeria’s Abdellatif Baka (3:48.29), clocked fastest times than the top four finishers in the equivalent event at the Rio 2016 Olympics.ġ0. He had won bronze at the Seoul 1988 Olympics as a professional fencer before suffering a bus accident in 1991.ĩ. Hungarian Pal Szekeres became the first and so far only athlete to win Olympic and Paralympic medals after taking wheelchair fencing gold at Barcelona 1992. With more broadcasters than ever before covering the action, Tokyo 2020 is expected to surpass that number.Ĩ. The Rio 2016 Paralympics smashed TV viewing records with a 4.1 billion cumulative audience. Boccia and goalball are the two only sports in the Paralympic programme that do not have an Olympic counterpart.ħ. The five flames generated from the petal unite at the centre of the torch, emulating even greater brilliance.Ħ. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic torch is designed to depict the shape of a flame. She competed in swimming at London 2012.ĥ. A Refugee Paralympic Team consisting of up to six athletes will compete at Tokyo 2020 and will be led by Chef de Mission and US Paralympian Ileana Rodriguez, herself a former refugee. The Paralympic mascot for Tokyo 2020 is called Someity, which comes from someiyoshino, a popular cherry blossom variety, and additionally echoes the English phrase “so mighty”.Ĥ. Tokyo will make history as the first city to stage the Paralympic Games for a second time, having hosted the event in 1964.ģ. Badminton and taekwondo will make their Paralympic debuts at Tokyo 2020.Ģ. With 17 days until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, check out what you might have (and not have) known:ġ. There is so much about the Paralympics that will surprise you, apart from the outstanding abilities of Para athletes. Or perhaps the differences between Paralympic sports and their Olympic counterparts. Maybe you did not know much about the father of the Paralympic Movement, Sir Ludwig Guttmann.
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