Malta made its debut in the Paralympic Games at the first official edition of the event, the 1960 Summer Paralympics. Excepting 1976 and the period between 1988 and 2004, the island country had participated in a total of seven Summer Paralympic Games and medalled a total of seven times in athletics, lawn bowls, snooker and table tennis. The 2008 Summer Paralympics were held in Beijing, China from 6 to 17 September 2008 with a total of 3,951 athletes representing 146 National Paralympic Committees. Runner Antonio Flores was the sole athlete to represent Malta at the Beijing Paralympics; he represented the island nation in the sport of para-athletics and was accompanied by his physiotherapist Nathan Farrugia and sports coordinator Adelaide Silva. Flores travelled to China from Malta on 1 September, and he was selected to be the Maltese flag bearer for the parade of nations during the opening ceremony.