Paralympic Games

The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities.
==History==
===Before the Paralympics===
Prior to the Paralympics, athletes with disabilities competed at the Olympic Games, with the first being German-American gymnast George Eyser in 1904. Hungarian amputee water polo player Olivér Halassy participated in three consecutive Olympic Games in 1928.https://web.archive.org/web/20161203073110/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ha/oliver-halassy-1.html Hungarian Károly Takács, a right-arm amputee, competed in shooting events at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics. Danish equestrian Lis Hartel, who contracted polio in 1943, won a silver medal in the dressage event at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Both athletes had disabilities before the Paralympic Games.
===Paralympics===
In 1960, the inaugural Summer Paralympics, also known as the 9th Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games, was held in Rome, Italy.https://archive.today/20121216142613/http://www.iwasf.com/iwasf/index.cfm/about-iwas/history/paralympic-games-1960-1992/ In 1976, the inaugural Winter Paralympic Games was held in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden.https://web.archive.org/web/20111216204230/http://www.paralympic.org/export/sites/default/Media_Centre/Media_Information/2008_07_History_and_Use_of_Term_Paralympic.pdfhttps://web.archive.org/web/20080911123235/http://www.biblioteket.se/default.asp?id=67582
On September 22, 1989, the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) was founded.https://www.paralympic.org/ipc/who-we-are#:~:text=Founded%20on%2022%20September%201989,focussed%20in%20all%20our%20endeavours. As of September 2023, there are 183 full members of the NPC.https://web.archive.org/web/20220310055143/https://www.paralympic.org/teams-npchttps://web.archive.org/web/20150315130837/http://www.paralympic.org/NPCs/Africahttps://www.paralympic.org/news/paralympic-family-grows-208-ipc-welcomes-five-new-members
Television broadcasts of Paralympic Games began in 1976, initially limited to taped-delay releases. By 1992, live coverage was available in Europe, while other countries broadcast highlight packages. Significant improvements in coverage occurred until the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney. The Games were also webcast for the first time, reaching a global audience of 300 million people.
==Controversy==
===Spanish national basketball team===
After the 2000 Sydney games, a Spanish basketball player accused the Spanish basketball team with intellectual disabilities of not having disabilities.https://web.archive.org/web/20111222162456/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2998162/Cheating-shame-of-Paralympics.html The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) called on the Spanish National Paralympic Committee to launch an investigation,https://web.archive.org/web/20060118062536/http://www.paralympic.org/release/Main_Sections_Menu/Media/Press_Releases/2000_11_27_a.html which uncovered several Spanish athletes who had violated ID rules. The IPC's investigation confirmed the allegations and determined that the incident was not isolated to the basketball ID event or Spanish athletes. All ID competitions were suspended indefinitely,https://web.archive.org/web/20041224162629/http://www.paralympic.org/release/Main_Sections_Menu/Media/Press_Releases/2001_03_09_a.html but the ban was lifted after the 2008 Games after tightening criteria for ID athletes. Four sports, swimming, athletics, table tennis, and rowing, were expected to hold competitions for ID athletes at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.https://web.archive.org/web/20120828224222/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/paralympic-sport/2798515/Cheating-does-happens-in-the-Paralympics-Paralympics.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20110605163054/http://www.paralympic.org/export/sites/default/Sport/Classification/2009_12_15_Memo_IPC_Membership_ID_Athlete_Reinclusion_FINAL.pdf
==References==
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