The 2024 Paralympics are in full swing over in Paris, with thousands of incredible athletes all competing for gold, silver, and bronze across 22 sports.
But with 549 events across those 22 disciplines, one big question keeps being asked - how are athletes classified?
The Paralympics do wonders in showing how disability is not a barrier to sporting greatness, with people from all backgrounds with hugely varying disabilities competing for medals.
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But disabilities are very different in nature - for instance, a blind person would likely have a very different approach to playing football compared to someone who was missing a limb.
Because of this, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) classifies athletes in to different bandings.
What is the Paralympics classification system and why is it used?
The IPC introduced its classification system as a way to stop competitions being one-sided and somewhat predictable by stopping the least impaired athlete from always winning.
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"Classification is the cornerstone of the Paralympic Movement, it determines which athletes are eligible to compete in a sport and how athletes are grouped together for competition," the IPC says.
Athletes are grouped 'by the degree of activity limitation resulting from the impairment', according to the guidance.
"This, to a certain extent, is similar to grouping athletes by age, gender or weight," the IPC adds.
Using the classification system aims to minimise the impact of the impairment on athletes’ performance so that the sporting excellence determines which athlete or team is ultimately victorious.
The hope from this is that it should ensure that athletes are classified prior to competing, which the IPC says is 'crucial to safeguarding the integrity and credibility of the competition'.
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How is a Paralympic athlete classified?
Paralympians go through something 'athlete evaluation' when being classified.
Three fundamentals questions are asked when classifying:
- Does the athlete have an Eligible Impairment for this sport?
- Does the athlete’s Eligible Impairment meet the Minimum Impairment Criteria of the sport?
- Which Sport Class should the athlete be allocated in based on the extent to which the athlete is able to execute the specific tasks and activities fundamental to the sport?
What is meant by Eligible Impairment?
There are a number of impairments which the IPC classifies. They are all underlying health conditions and athletes must be classified in to one.
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The impairments are:
- Impaired muscle power
- Impaired passive range of movement
- Limb deficiency
- Leg length difference
- Short stature
- Hypertonia
- Ataxia
- Athetosis
- Vision impairment
- Intellectual impairment
What is meant by Minimum Impairment Criteria?
Every sport in the IPC has its own classification rules on how severe one of the eligible impairments must be in an athlete for them to compete.
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"Examples of Minimum Impairment Criteria are a maximum height defined for athletes with short stature, or a level of amputation defined for athletes with limb deficiency," the IPC says.
"Minimum impairment criteria should be defined on the basis of scientific research, which assesses the impact of impairments on the sport’s activities. As sports require different activities, the Minimum Impairment Criteria are also specific for each sport. Consequently, an athlete may meet the criteria in one sport, but may not meet the criteria in another.
"If an athlete is not eligible to compete in a sport, this does not question the presence of a genuine impairment. It is a sport ruling."
And finally, how is the class decided?
If an athlete has met criteria up until this point, a classification panel will assess which class the athlete will compete in.
Some sports have only one class, such as Para powerlifting and Para ice hockey, while the likes of running and throwing events have multiple.
Athletes will be grouped with other athletes who have similar limitations so that competition is as fair as it can be.
Classification can change during an athlete's career as their medical condition changes.
Topics: Paralympics, Sport, World News
Tom Earnshaw