The competition starts on Wednesday (28th August) and runs until 8th September; the Paralympic Games will feature 22 sports
The Paris Paralympic Games will begin on Wednesday (August 28, 2024) and the athletes’ classifications can be confusing. After all, what is a B1, S4 or PR2 athlete? And why do different categories compete together?
This classification system exists to ensure that the level of competition is as fair as possible. Health professionals and coaches evaluate each Paralympic athlete to analyze the impact of the disability on specific activities and sports performance. Therefore, there is no single classification model; each sport has its own distribution.
Each classification is made up of letters and numbers. The letters usually refer to the name of the sport in English. For example, the acronym TT for table tennis. As a general rule, the lower the number, the more difficult it is to perform in the sport.
Read below the classification of each Paralympic sport:
Paralympic Athletics
Classified by letters: T (Track) in track events, such as speed, jumping and marathons. F (Field) in field events, such as throwing and throwing.
- 11 – 13: Visual impairment;
- 20: Intellectual disability;
- 31 – 38: Coordination deficiency (31 to 34 wheelchair users; 35 to 38 walkers);
- 40 – 41: Short stature;
- 42 – 44: Deficiency in the lower limbs;
- 45 – 47: Upper limb deficiency;
- 51 – 58: compete in wheelchairs;
- 61 – 64: lower limb with prosthesis.
Paralympic Badminton
Athletes are divided into 5 categories:
- WH1 and WH2: wheelchair athletes with severe and mild impairment in leg and trunk function, respectively;
- SL3 and SL4: Athletes who compete standing with lower limb impairment. SL stands for Standing/Lower (standing/lower limbs);
- SU5: Athletes compete standing with upper limb disabilities. SU stands for Standing/Upper (standing/upper limbs);
- SH6: Short stature athletes. SH stands for Standing/Short Stature.
Wheelchair Basketball
Athletes are classified on a scale of 1 to 4.5 according to their physical and motor impairment. The greater the impairment, the lower the scale. Within the match, the total score of the 5 athletes cannot exceed 14 points.
Bocce
Everyone competes in wheelchairs. Classified by the letters BC for Bocce.
- BC1: may receive assistance to adjust or stabilize the chair and deliver the ball;
- BC2: They do not receive assistance;
- BC3: Severe disabilities, the athlete may use a chute and may request assistance. Assistants may not interfere in the game and must have their backs to the game;
- BC4: Severe disabilities but do not receive assistance.
Paralympic Canoeing
By letters: KL (Kayak), for kayak and double paddle. VL for canoe and single paddle.
- 1: with no or very limited trunk function and no leg function. They only use their arms to row;
- 2: has partial leg and trunk function. They use trunk and arms when rowing;
- 3: with full trunk function and partial leg function. They use arms, trunk and legs when rowing.
Paralympic Cycling
For cycling the classification is divided into 5 classes.
- H1-H5: for athletes using the handbikea bicycle that “pedals” with your hands;
- T1 – T2: athletes who use a tricycle to pedal due to locomotor and balance problems;
- C1 – C5: athletes with impairment in upper and/or lower limbs, but who use their lower limbs to pedal.
- Tandem: for athletes who are visually impaired and cycle with a guide cyclist.
Wheelchair fencing
- Category A: for athletes with lower limb disabilities;
- Category B: for fencers with disabilities that prevent voluntary movement of the trunk.
Blind football
Composed of 4 outfield players and 1 goalkeeper. Classified by the letter B (Blind). In the outfield, only B1 players can compete and they wear visors to block their vision. B2 and B3 players can play in goal.
- B1: Totally blind or with light perception, but who do not recognize shapes;
- B2: Athletes with perception of shapes;
- B3: Athletes who can define images.
Goalball
Only athletes with less than 10% clarity of vision use the letter B (Blind). Athletes use masks and eye patches to block their vision.
- B1: no perception of light or unable to recognize shapes;
- B2: visual acuity not exceeding 1/30 after correction or visual field not exceeding 5º;
- B3: visual acuity not exceeding 1/10 after correction or visual field not exceeding 20º.
Paralympic Weightlifting
All athletes compete in a single class, being divided into different bodyweight categories.
- Male: -49Kg; -54Kg; -59kg; -65kg; -72kg; -80kg; -88kg; -97k; -107kg and +107kg
- Female: -41kg; -45kg; -50kg; -55kg; -61kg; -67kg; -73kg; -79kg; -86kg and +86kg
Paralympic Equestrianism
- Grade 1: Athletes with severe impairment affecting all limbs and trunk;
- Grade 2: severe impairment in the trunk and minimal impairment in the arms or moderate impairment in the trunk, legs and arms;
- Grade 3: severe impairment in the lower limbs, with minimal or no impairment in the trunk or moderate impairment in the trunk, legs and arms;
- Grade 4: athletes with severe impairment in both arms, with moderate impairment in the upper and lower limbs or short stature;
- Grade 5: Athletes with partial or complete visual impairment, mildly impaired range of motion, impairment of 1 limb or mild impairment of 2 limbs.
Paralympic Judo
Athletes are divided into 3 classes with the letter B (Blind) and then divided by weight.
- B1: complete blindness
- B2 – B3: visual impairment
Paralympic Swimming
Represented by the letters:
- S (Swimming) with butterfly, backstroke and crawl strokes;
- SB (Swimming breaststroke) for the breaststroke style;
- SM (Swimming Medley, medley swimming in English) with events that combine styles.
By number (the greater the disability, the lower the number):
- 1 – 10: Athletes with physical-motor limitations;
- 11: Athletes with very low visual acuity or no perception of light. Swimmers wear darkened goggles to level the playing field;
- 12: with visual acuity greater than category 11 and/or with a visual field smaller than 10º of radius;
- 13- less severe visual impairment, with greater visual acuity and a visual field of less than 40º;
- 14: Athletes with intellectual disabilities.
Paralympic Rowing
Classified by the letters PR (Para Rowing, Paralympic rowing in English)
PR1- individual with 2 oars, for athletes without trunk or leg function;
PR2 – mixed double with 2 oars, consisting of 1 man and 1 woman. Rowers who can only use the upper part of their body to row and with their legs stretched out;
PR3 – mixed quartet with 1 oar, consisting of 2 men and 2 women. Category for athletes who use their torso, arms and legs. With a maximum of 2 visually impaired people in the boat.
Wheelchair Rugby
Athletes receive a score of 0.5 to 3.5 according to their functional capacity. The lower the physical function, the lower the score, and vice versa. The total score of the team on the court cannot exceed 8 points. However, if there is a woman in the game, the team can score up to 8.5 points.
Paralympic Taekwondo
The athletes are named after the letter K for Kyrorugi, which means combat. Only one category will compete at the Paris Paralympics:
- K44: athletes with unilateral or bilateral upper limb amputation or loss of equivalent function in the arms.
The athletes will be divided into weight categories.
- Male: up to 58kg; up to 63kg; up to 70kg; up to 80kg; over 80kg.
- Female: up to 47kg; up to 54kg; up to 57kg; up to 65kg; over 65kg.
Paralympic Table Tennis
Athletes are classified by the letters TT for Table Tennis, which means table tennis in English.
- TT 1 – 5: for wheelchair athletes, the higher the number, the lower the physical motor impairment;
- TT 6 – 10: athletes who compete standing up, the higher the number the lower the physical motor impairment;
- TT11: for walking athletes with intellectual disabilities.
Wheelchair Tennis
Two categories divide the athletes:
- Open or Open: athletes with disabilities in the lower limbs;
- Quad or Tetra: athletes with disabilities in 3 or more extremities of the body.
Paralympic Archery
There are 3 categories for the modality:
- Open class with recurve bow: athletes with disabilities in one limb, or in 2 lower limbs or in the upper and lower limbs on the same side. Shots made standing at a distance of 70 meters at a 122 cm target.
- Open class with compound bow: with the same characteristics as the recurve bow, but for archers with little arm strength. Seated shots at a distance of 50 meters at an 80 cm target.
- W1: Archers with disabilities in 3 or 4 limbs. Bows are limited to 20 kg draw weight. Shooting at a distance of 50 meters at an 80 cm target.
Paralympic shooting
The classes have the letters SH of shootingwhich means shooting sport, in English.
- SH1: Athletes who can hold the weapon without the support of a stand. They can shoot standing or sitting. Shooters use rifles or pistols.
- SH2: Athletes who require a support to hold the rifle. Some shooters may have an assistant to reload the weapon.
Paralympic Triathlon
Athletes are represented by the letters PT for Paratriathlon, which means Paralympic triathlon in English. They are also divided by the letters:
- WC: for wheelchair users (WheelChair, in English);
- S: standing (Standing, in English);
- VI: for visually impaired (Visual Impairment, in English).
They are also divided into 9 classes (a lower number represents a less severe deficiency):
- PTWC 1 – 2: for athletes with limitations in the upper and lower limbs. They use a handbike for cycling and a wheelchair for running. They compete in the same event, but with separate starts.
- PTS 2 – 5: Athletes with limitations in their lower and/or upper limbs, but who do not need a handbike or a wheelchair. Prosthetics and accessibility modifications to the bicycle are permitted.
- PTVI 1 – 3: Visually impaired athletes. The blind athlete competes with a guide. The starts are separate to ensure equal competition conditions.
Sitting volleyball
The sport is represented by the letters VS (Seated Volleyball). Each team is made up of 6 athletes from the following categories:
- VS1: More severe impairments with a greater impact on performance;
- VS2: Less severe disability, with a lower impact. The team can have a maximum of 2 athletes in this category.
This report was produced by journalism intern Rafael Corrieri under the supervision of assistant editorial secretary Simone Kafruni.
#Learn #meaning #letters #numbers #Paralympic #sports