But it was with the celebration in 1960 of the first Paralympic Games in Rome, when this movement began to have the prominence it deserved and to earn the respect of many. Today there are countless sports that those who suffer from some type of disability (physical, intellectual, visual, or cerebral palsy) can practice , in order to improve their quality of life and demonstrate that they are as capable as anyone to integrate into the sports world, surpass the goals that are proposed, and be, without realizing it, an example of struggle for many people.
However, not all these sports are so well known to everyone, either because of the number of people who practice them or because of the media coverage that they are given. Therefore, we have selected 5 of them with the aim of making them known :
Bowl
It was already practiced in Ancient Greece, and the Nordic countries adopted it for people with disabilities in the 70s. Although it began to be officially considered a competitive Paralympic sport at the 1984 Paralympic Games in New York .
Participants have neurological conditions or cerebral palsy and are in a wheelchair. They play on a rectangular court where they throw their balls as close as possible to a white ball called Jack.
Wheelchair curling
This sport triumphed at the Paralympic Games in Turin in 2006. It is intended for athletes, both men and women, with spinal cord injuries, a physical impairment in the lower half of their body, multiple sclerosis, leg amputation, and cerebral palsy.
It is practiced on ice , with two teams of four players. On the pitch there are two concentric circles of different colors, called draw (the one on the outside) and the tee (the one on the inside). After having thrown 16 granite stones, the winner is whoever has managed to place one of the stones as close as possible to the center or tee .
Biathlon
It was declared a Paralympic discipline in 1988 in Innsbruck (Austria), and in 1992 its practice was extended to athletes with visual impairments. The route is 2 or 2.5 kilometers, and in total between 6 and 15 kilometers are covered. During the competition, the athletes must shoot with their rifle on two static targets placed at a distance of 10 meters. Each failure is penalized with an increase in the total time of the route.
Goalball
The origins of this sport date back to the Second World War. Born as a rehabilitation exercise for veterans and declared a Paralympic in 1976 , it is exclusive for the visually impaired. Each match consists of two 12-minute parts and the participants wear masks during the match.
Two groups of three players face off on an indoor court that is marked with tactile lines. It is based on the fact that the members of the opposing team must introduce the ball into the goal, after rolling it down the track. You are only allowed to shout and clap when a goal is scored.
Dartchery
It is about the combination of archery with darts . It is within the group of disciplines that have been exhibition sports in some edition of the Paralympic Games, but which today do not officially belong to the Paralympic program.
