Classifications, history and Australian hopes: what to expect at the Paris Paralympics

Paris is about to host its first Paralympics. Similar to the Olympics last month, Australia is bringing a strong team with many medal hopefuls.

But how are the Paralympics similar (or different) to the Olympics, how do the athlete classifications work, and who are Australia’s main medal hopes?

Paralympic history

Paralympic history began in England in 1948.

Medical doctor Ludwig Guttmann was working with paraplegic ex air force pilots who were injured in the second world war.

He organised archery and netball competitions at his hospital during the 1948 London Olympics to help his patients rehabilitate more quickly.

The first Paralympic games were held in Rome in 1960.

Since 1988, the Paralympics have been held at the same location as the Olympics, usually around two weeks later.

Read more: Why aren't the Olympics and Paralympics combined into one Games? The reasoning goes beyond logistics

Australia has competed in every Paralympics. Our most successful sports are athletics and swimming.

Similar to the Olympics, we have finished in the top ten on the medal tally in every summer Paralympics for the past 30 years.

Our best result was when we finished first on the medal tally at Sydney in 2000, with 63 golds.

Paris 2024

Athletes will compete in 549 medal events across 22 sports.

There are no new sports this year. Para badminton and para taekwondo are the newest sports – both introduced in Tokyo.

Most Paralympic sports have a similar sport on the Olympic program, for example para canoeing (Paralympics) and canoeing (Olympics).

Only two do not: boccia (a bowls-like sport played by athletes in wheelchairs) and goalball (teams of visually impaired athletes trying to roll a ball into the opposing goal).

In Paris, 18 venues from the Olympics will be used again during the Paralympics. These include the swimming pool, athletics track and equestrian venue.

Other venues are being converted. For example, the beach volleyball stadium at the Eiffel Tower will host blind football.

What about classifications?

The Paralympic classification system groups athletes based on their ability to perform in a specific sport.

This system aims to minimise any advantage one athlete might have over another and is somewhat similar to how athletes are grouped by age or weight in other sports.

First, an athlete is evaluated to see whether they have one of the ten eligible impairments, which are either physical, vision or intellectual.

Each sport has its own set of rules (called Minimum Impairment Criteria) to determine who can compete. This is because different sports require athletes to use their body differently.

For example, in wheelchair basketball, an athlete must have a physical impairment in their legs severe enough that it affects their ability to play standing basketball. In wheelchair rugby, athletes must have an impairment that affects both their arms and legs.

This means an athlete may be able to compete in one sport, but they may not meet the minimum requirements in another sport.

Additionally, sports such as para athletics and swimming include athletes with all types of impairments, whereas goalball is specifically for those with vision impairments.

After determining eligibility, athletes are placed into sport classes.

These classes group athletes with similar levels of activity limitation together, ensuring fair competition.

Lower numbers are allocated to athletes with more severe limitations, whereas athletes with smaller impairments are given high numbers.

For example, in cycling, an athlete with a double below-the-knee amputation who uses prostheses is likely to compete in the C3 class, whereas an athlete with a below-knee amputation and a prosthesis on one leg would compete in the C4 class.

Some team sports have their own unique team classifications.

For example, in wheelchair rugby, each player is assigned a points value ranging from 0.5 (lowest) to 3.5 (highest) based on their ability. The total points value of the players on the court at any given time must not exceed eight points. This ensures no team has an unfair advantage.

This system helps maintain the integrity of the competition, allowing athletes to compete based on their skills and abilities rather than the severity of their impairments.

Australia’s medal hopes

Some of our strongest medal chances are in athletics, swimming, cycling and rowing.

Both our flag bearers, Madison de Rozario (para athletics) and Brenden Hall (para swimming), could add to their existing medals (six each) from their four previous Paralympics.

Vanessa Low will be going for a third Paralympic gold medal in a row, as she launches into the long jump at Stade de France. Low continues to break world records, including the women’s T61 long jump in January, and she won gold in the World Para Athletics Championships in May.

James Turner is also a world record holder in Paralympic athletics and was named 2023 para-athlete of the year. He has achieved world records in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m.

Turner is a strong gold medal chance after winning silver (100m) and gold (400m) in Tokyo.

Lauren Parker has won four world triathlon titles, became a cycling world champion and won the 2023 Australian Women’s Para-Athlete of the Year award.

Having claimed silver in Tokyo in the individual women’s para-triathlon wheelchair event, Parker will be vying for a gold medal at the Paris paralympics. This is despite a recent training accident.

A host of gold medal chances are looming across the para-swimming events.

Para-swimmers to watch out for include Alexa Leary (100m freestyle champion and world record holder), Katja Dedekind (50m freestyle S13 champion and world record holder), Lakeisha Patterson (400m freestyle gold medal winner in Rio and Tokyo), Ryan Crothers (50m freestyle gold medal in Tokyo) and Ben Hance (100m backstroke gold medal in Tokyo).

Our other big individual chances are in rowing and canoeing.

Jed Altschwager and Nikki Ayers achieved gold at the 2023 world championships, set recent world records and became the 2023 World Rowing Para Crew of the Year.

Curtis McGrath will be attempting to build on his successive gold in the men’s KL2 200m caneo sprint in Rio and Tokyo, alongside his KL3 gold at Tokyo.

The Australian wheelchair rugby team, the Steelers, will be looking to return to the top of the podium after gold in 2012 and 2016, and recent world titles.

After missing out in Tokyo, the Steelers will be difficult to beat.