Olympic games for people with disability

She was deaf. Her coaches communicated with her by writing instructions on paper, which they gave to her between training sessions. She eventually became one of the best female fencers in the world, hitting her peak in the late s and early s. In , she was Hungarian foil champion. In she was World foil champion. She took part in every Olympiad from to She won 7 medals: 2 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze.

She is considered one of the greatest female fencers in Olympic history. Jeff is an American former competition swimmer, world record holder, world champion and Olympic gold medalist. At 13 months of age, Float lost most of his hearing and nearly his life to viral meningitis. Jeff became the first legally deaf athlete from the United States to win an Olympic gold medal. Great name for a swimmer too!

Born in Christchurch, Fairhall took up archery following a motorbike accident which paralysed her from the waist down, ending her previous athletic career. Fairhall was awarded an MBE for services to the sport. She continued to coach at her Christchurch archery club after retiring from shooting. She died on 11 June , aged 61, due to illness arising from her disability.

At age 8 she contracted poliomyelitis, and has been wheelchair user ever since. She competed in archery at five consecutive Summer Paralympic Games from to and won a total of five gold medals, one silver, and two bronzes for Italy. She won gold medals in both the individual and team events for archery at the Summer Paralympics, and took gold and silver at the Paralympics.

Parkin competed in his first Olympic games in at the age of He used sign language to communicate with his coach. Marla is an American track and field athlete, road runner and marathon runner who is legally blind. Runyan won four gold medals at the Summer Paralympics in the long jump and the , , and meter races. She also competed in cycling at those games. She went on to place eighth in the 1,meter in the Sydney Olympics. Australian Frank Bartolillo is profoundly deaf, and competed in fencing at the Athens Olympics.

He competed in the individual foil event. He claimed that being deaf was an advantage as it enabled him to better concentrate. He won Olympic gold in the team competition in and , and bronze in Catchings was born with a hearing impairment and wore a hearing aid as a young girl.

She played in the US women's basketball team which won four Olympic gold medals - , , , and In , South African amputee Natalie du Toit competed in the open water 10km swim, in which she came 16th. Her left leg was amputated at the knee after she was hit by a car when she was She swims without the aid of a prosthetic limb. She carried the flag at the Summer Olympics opening ceremony, making her the first athlete to carry a flag in both the Olympics and Paralympics in a single year.

Polish table tennis player Natalia Partyka was one of two athletes to compete at the Summer Paralympics and Olympics in Beijing the other was Natalie du Toit. Partyka was born without a right hand and forearm. Therefore the referees nod to him in addition to the whistle so that he can recognize the signal.

South African Oscar Pistorius aka the 'Blade Runner' , became the first double amputee to take part in both the Olympics and Paralympics. He competed in the m and 4 x m relay races at the Olympics, running on his carbon-fiber prosthetic legs. He had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old, after being born without fibulas and with deformities of his feet.

See profile. She was making her Olympic Games debut, though four years earlier she became the first woman from Iran to win a Paralympic gold medal. The wheelchair-bound Nemati was paralyzed after a car accident as a teenager. In Rio , year-old table tennis player Melissa 'Milly' Tapper became the first Australian athlete to compete in both the Olympics and Paralympics.

She was born with nerve damage in her right arm, and competed at the London Paralympics. There is potential for momentum to really build across Great Britain in coming years, with Home Nation athletes also keen to take part in the Special Olympics GB Games in , which will be held in Liverpool.

Sports manufacturer and supplier to major events, including London , Harrod Sport are excited at the potential for growth in intellectual disability sports. Sport is for all and we are excited to see that belief demonstrated in this incredible event. While a lack of funding will always be a challenge, the key to increasing sporting participation in Britain is in sustaining interest far beyond the conclusion of the Summer Games.

International sporting federations will be free to set their own rules regarding gender in sport, The Special Olympics The Special Olympics World Summer Games have just taken place in Abu Dhabi, where 7, athletes and 3, coaches from countries gathered to compete and to celebrate the achievements of sportspeople with intellectual disabilities. Making progress The Special Olympic programme is reliant on volunteers, and outside of the Games itself is a movement that prides itself on ensuring that all people can be involved in sports, regardless of any disability.

Looking forwards As important as the immediacy of improved awareness and participation in disability sports is, the potential impact on future generations is also tremendously valuable. Want more like this? All the latest articles, delivered straight to your inbox.

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