Hey! Is that a sprinter?

Wow! Look at all these athletes! But how did all this start?

Poppa aka Sir Lutwig Guttmann, was the founder of the Modern Paralympic Movement.

While in charge of the  Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Great Britain since 1944, he saw sport as being central to the rehabilitation of people with spinal cord injuries.

On 29 July 1948, on the Opening Ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games, Dr. Guttmann organised the first competition for wheelchair athletes, the Stoke Mandeville Games, a milestone in Paralympic history.

The Stoke Mandeville Games later became the first Paralympic Games which first took place in Rome, Italy, in 1960 featuring 400 athletes from 23 countries. Since then they have taken place every four years.

Rome 1960

Hi I'm Christine!

Hi I'm Dennis!

Hi I'm Maria!

Today we are going to talk about the summer olympics in Rome in 1960!

Let the games begin!!!

The 1960 Summer Olympics featured 17 different sports encompassing 23 disciplines, and medals were awarded in 150 events. 

At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, 34 events in athletics were contested, 24 by men and 10 by women. There was a total number of 1016 participating athletes from 73 countries.

That was everything!

Thanks for watching

Hi Nefeli! Did you know that in the London 2012 parolympic games attracted a record-breaking 4,237 Para athletes (2,736 men and 1,501 women) from 164 countries?

Hi Gianna! No I didn't but I do know that they competed in 503 medal events across 20 sports in packed venues after a record 2.7 million tickets were sold. 

London 2012

Here we are!! With a grand big bang, the 14th Paralympic games 2012 in london began, with the famous astrophysicist Stephen Hawking giving the cue to start the great celebration titled ''Enlightenment''

Swimmers were the athletes to take home the most medals from London 2012 with Australia's Jacqueline Freney (8 golds) and Brazil's Daniel Dias (6 golds) leading the way.

Give me some highlights Nefeli!

Here's our Greek athlete Nikolaos Pananos celebrating after a shot during the Mixed Pairs Boccia - BC3 gold medal final!

And here's Jesus Aguilar of Venezuela crashing as he goes over the line to finish in the Men's 800m!

The London 2012 Paralympics Closing Ceremony was a spectacular affair with Coldplay, Jay-Z and Rihanna playing to a capacity crowd!

Wow! I wish we could have been there!

 And as The renowned astrophysicist Prof Hawking told more than a billion viewers worldwide  'Look up at the stars, and not down at your feet... be curious'

Hey i'm John

Ηey i'm Stelios

Hey i'm Orestis

Hey i'm Elias

ATHENS 2004

Did you know that in this Paralympics Para athletes broke 304 world and 448 Paralympic records?

Ohh that's truly impressive!

 Another fact is that a total of 850,000 spectators attended the Games. 

And also, there was cumulative audience of 1.85 billion that watched the games on television! 

An athlete that should be mentioned is Chantal Peticlerc who won five gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1,500m races setting three world records!

WOW!!

Not to mention this was the first Paralympics that took place in Greece !

Thanks for watching!!

Maybe one of the best Paralympics ever conducted!!

Rio 2016

The Rio 2016 Paralympics were the best Games ever in terms of athletic performance.

I am Panagiota. Jesus Christ!!! The statue is speaking!!!

I am Stelios.

Hello, I'm Panagiotis

I'm so excited for the paralympics!

I'm Josef. Look at those mascots!

Rio 2016 arguably did more for the Paralympic Movement than any previous Games with record TV audiences, more than 2.1 million passionate spectators and outstanding performances from Para athletes.

A total of 4,328 Para athletes (2,657 men and 1,671 women) from 159 countries took part and over 12 days of sporting action 220 world and 432 Paralympic records were broken.  

WOW!!! So many records!!! That is amazing!!!

Sadly, the Games were not without tragedy. On the penultimate day of competition Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad died following a crash in the road cycling event.

REST IN PEACE...

That was tragic.

Both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies took place at the world famous Maracana S The parade of athletes was led into the Maracana by Ibrahim Al-Hussein, the flag bearer for the International Paralympic Athletes (IPA) team. During the parade volunteers pieced together a giant jigsaw puzzle made up of 1,160 pieces which formed a picture featuring 6,315 photos of those taking part.The lighting of the cauldron by Brazilian swimming legend Clodoaldo Silva was greeted with a huge roar after an emotionally-charged final stage of the Paralympic flame’s journey around Brazil.

WOW !!! That sounds amazing! 

In total 83 countries won at least one medal, the most ever in Paralympic history.

Stunning !!! That's so many medals!

These were the most impressive facts about Rio 2016.

Thanks for watching !!!

I am Roxani.

I am Eleutheria.

I am Argyro.

I am Yro.

I am Vicky meow,meow.

I am Katerina oink,oink.

Beijing 2022

Yeah,i 've only heard of the olympics.

No what is it?

The paraolympic games are an extent of the olympic games but for disabled people.

Have you heard of the paraolympic games?

When were the last olympic games?

When are the next olympic games?

They will be held in Paris this year and they'll be summer olympics.While the last olympics were winter olympics.

The last olympic games were held in Beijing in 2022.

Who won the most medals?

Alright so tell us more about these olympic games.

Well..They had really cool mascots.

As the host China tried to excel in all sports,and gained 61 medals in total.

Who won the most medals?

What else can you tell us?

The person who won the most medals is Jesper Pedersen,he won 5 gold medals and 1 silver in alpine skiing.

There were 422 men and 136 women participating.

Is there something else worth mentioning?

In which sports did he win?

In men's long distance classic,in men's sprint free and in men's middle distance free.

Yes,Brian McKeever a vision impaired paraolympian,who had a remarkable journey winning 16 gold medals,20 overall,got his last medals in last olympics as he decided to retire. 

They really are!

Wow so cool,these people are really inspiring.

Thank you so much!

We are happy you enjoyed it

You're welcome girls!

You know, kids, back in 2000, I had the  chance to attend the Paralympic Games in Sydney. It was incredible! 

Sydney 2000

Grandpa what are the Paralympics

And what were the events like there? Did you see any that impressed you?

Paralympic games are similar to the olympics but for athletes with disabilities. They offer a chance for people who have overcome huge challenge to showcase their talent.

Grandpa that sounds wonderful!

How many athletes participated?

How many sports did it have?

A total of 18 different sports were featured in Sydney, including 10 new powerlifting classes for women and a total of 18 different sports were featured in Sydney, including 10 new powerlifting classes for women and seven new men’s and women’s athletics events.

The relay event commenced with a lighting ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra on 5 October 2000, involved 920 torchbearers, each of whom carried the flame an average of 500m.The torch visited each capital city by air, as a Royal Australian Air Force Falcon 900 executive jet flew the Paralympic flame around Australia.

Now tell us something more impressive.

Wow!

Thanks for watching!!

TOKYO 2020

Hey, Pantelis and Fotis do you want to talk about the paralympics games?

Yes, sure Themis! I think Fotis has been in one of them!

Yes, let's talk about Tokyo 2020 because I was there in person..

Wow!!! Tell us more about it.

That's very impresive!!

Do you know that China won 207 metals in total!!!

The only thing that I know is  the maskot which is called Someity.

Yes I know a thing or two..

Do any of you know anything else about these paralympics games?

There were 4393 patritipants from 162 countries!The date was 24 of August to 05 of September. A total of 22 sports were scheduled for inclusion for these games. Another fact is that badminton and taekwondo made their debut. 

Awesome!

This is the only athlete from Greece that won a gold mettal! His name is Athanasios Ghavelas.

THANKS FOR WATCHING!!!

            THE END.

WOW!!!

Beijing 2008

Hello! I'm Eleftheria

Hi! My name is Joanna!

Hey theree! I'm Andriana and we are going to talk about the paraylimpics in 2008! 

One of the standout performers of the Games was 13 year-old Eleanor Simmonds as she became the youngest ever individual Paralympic gold medalist when she won the 100m freestyle S6 event in swimming on 8 September!

 And also she won another two golds in London, including setting a World Record in the 400m freestyle, and a further gold medal!

I didn't know that ,but one fact that I know is that rowing was added to the sports programme for the first time!

 Did you know that a total of 3,951 Para athletes  representing 146 countries took part in the Games, contesting 472 medal events across 20 sports!  Five NPCs took part for the first time!

Girls, thanks for the information!😂

Hi Evelina! Did you know that the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games were the first to attract worldwide corporate sponsorship?

Hi Marilena! No I did not! But I do know that there were 3,808 athletes and in the span of nine days, 269 world records were surpassed.

Atlanta 1996

We made it to the stadium! Hey, Marilena, what are you doing there?  

Hi Konstantina! I am here talking with Zhiqiang Luo, the winner of powerlifting.

No way!! It's Zhiqiang Luo!!!!

The Games also showcased a Cultural Pyramid, featuring the works of artists with disabilities across many creative disciplines. The Cultural Pyramid was initiated to widen the appeal and impact of the Games and to draw parallels between excellence in sport and in the arts.

Hi mom! me and my friend Lizi have an english assignment to do about the Paralympics! Do you happen to know any information on this matter?

Hi girls! i actually do and i would love to help you. i recommend you guys write about the paraolympics in 1988. It was a remarkable event!

Seoul,North Korea 1988

Did you know that in Seoul, North Korea in 1988 it was the first time that the Paralympic games were held in the same location as the Olympic games? it was also the first time the term Paralympic Games was used officially.

At the time, a record 3,041 Para athletes (2,370 men and 671 women) from 60 countries took part.  They competed in 733 medal events across 18 sports.  A whopping 971 world and 156 Paralympic records were broken!

Wow! That's incredible!

There were also some outstanding performances! For example, Kristin Otto of East Germany won six gold medals in swimming and Janet Evans of the United States won three swimming events.

All this stuff sounds pretty amazing! We should definitely not miss watching the next paraolympics!

I agree! It's also great that the disabled people have the chance to compete with each other and reach their sport and life goals!

Exactly!

Sochi 2014

Hey Charis! Have you ever been to any of the paralympic games?

Yes Andrew, I've been to the winter games in Sochi. The Games featured five sports , including alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ice sledge hockey and wheelchair curling.

What about the winners? How many medals did each country win?

Russia came first, winning 30 golds and 80 total medals. Germany finished second with 9 golds and 15 total medals and was followed by Canada with 7 golds and 16 total medals. 19 of the 45 countries competing won at least one medal.

It looks like the games were pretty popular.

In fact, they were! Sochi 2014 was record-breaking in terms of ticket sales, with 316,200 tickets sold, and media coverage, with nearly 2.1 billion people watching globally. The Games were the most watched in history.

Yes George!  The Paralympic games is the largest international event for disabled athletes  that  takes place shortly after every Olympic Games in the same host city!

Do you remember 2018

paralympic game in

PYEONGCHANG?

Yea sure. A record 567 athletes from 48 countries,  competed in the Games. Three National Paralympic Committees  Georgia, North Korea  and Tajikistan took  part in a Winter Games for the first time. The Athlete competed for 80 medals. There are numerous people thinking that it is the best competition since the start of the competition!

First was America with 36 medals. Second was Canada with 28 and third France with 20!

Another crazy statistic is that 20 different countries won a gold medal!!

That's actually crazy!!

Our conversation was really interesting!

Yea that is true! See you soon!!!

The End!

Paralympic Games featured:

Rome 1960           Atlanta 1996

Athens 2004       Beijing 2008                       

Rio 2016               Seoul 1988             

Beijing 2022        Sochi 2014               

Sydney 2000       Pyeongchang 2018

Tokyo 2020          London 2012

Thank you for watching!