The name derives from the Greek "Para" ("beside" or "alongside") and thus refers to a competition held in parallel with the Olympic Games. No relation with paralysis or paraplegia is intended, however, the word Paralympic was originally a portmanteau combining 'paraplegic' and 'Olympic'.
The Paralympic Games is a major international multi-sport event, involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power (e.g. paraplegia and quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, Post-polio syndrome, spina bifida), impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency (e.g. amputation or dysmelia), leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment and intellectual impairment.
The Paralympics first started in 1948 when Ludwig Guttmann organized a sports competition which involved World War 2 veterans that had spinal injuries. Afterwards a similar event was organized in Toronto, Canada where different disability groups were added and the idea of merging together and taking part in athletic sports was a success.
The 2016 Paralympics Game, the fifteen Summer Paralympic Game is an international multi-sport event for athlete with disability governed by the International Paralympic Commitee, held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016, making them the first Summer Paralympics to be held during the host city's wintertime. This marked the first time a Latin America and South American city hosts the event. These Games introduce two new sports to the Paralympic program: canoeing and the paratriathlon.
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