Paralympic Games

[ par-uh-lim-pik geymz, par-uh-lim- ]

plural noun

1. an international competition for athletes with disabilities.

Other Words From

• Par·a·lym·pi·an noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Paralympic Games¹

First recorded in 1955–60; blend of para(plegic) ( def ) or para- ¹( def ) and (O)lympic ( def )

Example Sentences

These include special designs for the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games and occasions such as King Charles's coronation.

From BBC

The Paralympic Games were held in Paris this month.

From BBC

Paris 2024 was the 17th edition of the Summer Paralympic Games.

From BBC

The overall goal is that by the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games, "no disabled child faces this discrimination".

From BBC

“The Paralympic Games do not have the awareness or the profile in the U.S. as they do in Europe,” Spence said.

From Los Angeles Times

More About Paralympic Games

What are the Paralympic Games?

The Paralympic Games are an international athletic competition featuring multiple sporting events between athletes with a range of bodily differences and disabilities. The event is sometimes called the Paralympics.

The event is modeled after the Olympic Games, featuring the world’s top athletes in their sports, with the top three finishers in each event being awarded medals: gold for first place, silver for second place, and bronze for third place. Like the Olympics, there are Winter and Summer versions of the Paralympic Games, and they are usually held after the corresponding Olympic event in the same city.

The Winter Paralympic Games feature winter sports, including skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey, and many others. The Summer Paralympic Games feature traditionally warm weather and indoor sports, like track and field, swimming, and wheelchair basketball, among many others.

Eligibility for and competition in the Paralympic Games is based on categories that involve bodily differences and different types of disabilities, including those related to muscle power and movement, range of movement, limb differences, visual impairment, and intellectual disabilities.

Athletes who compete in the Paralympic Games can be called Paralympians.

When are the Paralympic Games?

The 2024 Summer Paralympic Games will be held from August 28 to September 8, 2024, in Paris, France. The 2022 Winter Paralympic Games are scheduled from March 4 to March 13, 2022, in Beijing, China.

Because they are held after the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games are now usually staggered so that there is two years between the Summer Paralympic Games and the Winter Paralympic Games, with each being held every four years (usually in even-numbered years). The Summer Paralympic Games are typically held in August or September and the Winter Paralympic Games are typically held in March.

More information and context the Paralympic Games

The Para in Paralympic comes from the word parallel—another name for the Paralympic Games is the Parallel Olympics.

The Paralympic Games trace their origin to the opening of the 1948 Olympic Games in London, during which an archery tournament was held among former British soldiers in wheelchairs. The event was named the Stoke Mandeville Games after the name of a hospital that treated patients with spinal injuries. The event was hosted periodically until 1960, when it officially became the Paralympic Games and was hosted alongside the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. The event has taken place every four years since. The Winter Paralympic Games were established in 1976.

What are some terms that often get used in discussing the Paralympic Games?

• Paralympian
• athlete
• disability
• swimming
• cycling
• wheelchair
• basketball
• Olympic Games
• Special Olympics

How are the Paralympic Games discussed in real life?

The Paralympic Games feature elite athletes competing at the highest level in a range of different sports.

The countdown is on, one week to go until we’re off to Tokyo 😬😬😬

Even though we’ve had an extra year to prepare #tokyo2020 has come around so so quick!! I can’t wait to be on the plane and start my Paralympic Games. pic.twitter.com/grYLJFussz

— nathan maguire (@nathanmaguire2) August 5, 2021

U.S. athletes competing at the Paralympic Games can now take home $37,500 for each gold medal earned. https://t.co/m0U5aaioqi

— Shape Magazine (@Shape_Magazine) July 29, 2021

So sad that the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games are now over :( what an amazing few weeks!!

— Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) September 9, 2012

Try using Paralympic Games!

True or False?

The Paralympic Games are always held in the same city.