Is the Paralympics legitimate?

The paralympics is an official event featuring real athletes, with formal standards not arbitrary ones.

The entry critera are strict. To answer how disabled you need to be: http://www.informationdelight.info/encyclopedia/en... and the offical website http://www.paralympic.org/ both detail the requirements for qualifying as a Paralympic athlete. If you fit these criteria you qualify.

For example, if a marathon runner is blind they are still disadvantaged as they can't see issues with the road surface. However they are still running a marathon and still train hard. The record Paralympic time for the 100m sprint is 10.85 seconds run by someone with Cerebal Palsy.

It is understandable that people who are not disabled, and therefore cannot take part, may not care as much. For people that are disabled, I would imagine it provides a huge source of inspiration that people suffering the same conditions can compete.

Yes They are legitimate.

Some sports are open to all disabilities while other are just open to one disability. Athletes Cycling Swimming are open to all. In Athletes they compete again athlete with the same disability and some class

In Swimming different physical disability compete against each other

but they have the some ability once in the water. There are Physical 10 class for swimming.

Wheelchair basketball is played by amputees and paras. While Wheelchair rugby is open to quads. 5 aside football is for blind athlete and 7 aside cerebral palsy.

In basketball player are give a rating and the team is only allowed about 15 points of ability on the field at any one time.

if they go over then it a foul and they send the other team to the free throw line.

No I don't think stubby toes count.

I believe an athlete probably has to be diagnosed as disabled to be able to compete in the Paralympics.

This is the reason why there are different classes in some sports. Other sports, like wheelchair basketball and sledge hockey, everybody is equal. Some of the sports that have different classes depending on the disability are alpine skiing, swimming, cross country etc.

you are majorly miss-informed about the paralympics.

There are strict classifications for the type of disability the athlete has from amputees, those who have lost limbs due to polio (loss of arms and legs in athletics have separate classifications), those who have cerebral palsy, wheelchair athletes, blind athletes etc.

In athletics blind athletes have a sighted guide runner and cycling the blind competitor has a pilot who steers. In swimming a sort of ball on a stick is held out to touch them on the head so they know when to make the turn.

The targets for the partially sighted shooting work by sounds, the closer to the bulls eye they aim the higher the pitch of the sound is.

For a full description of the clasifactions:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/disab...

Its people like you that make this world a great place NOT !!!

wonder if you would feel the same if you were genuinely disabled..

your stubby toes/crappy running comment is simply patronising, shame on you...

Yes it is totally legitimate - how very ignorant!

If you did your research you would understand there are diffferent categories for the papalympics

For example, a swimmer with just one foot would be in a diffenret class to an athlete who had no arms...etc.

All these athletes train just as hard as any other athlete and have the same goals, aspirations and training ethos.

Do you know that blind people play golf? I suggest you do some research before posting a question like this.

i understand you to a point re: disability being appropriate to the sport... but I care not for your stubby toes its not only running your crap at but being a human being ....now run away and hide me.

"Obviously I care about disabled people's welfare."

It's their choice, if they don't want to do it then they won't.

Hello, Yeh you should understand that they too should be happy doing it ok? I guess notting is wrong with it after all they are humans not animals. Thanks.