Athletics features more events and competitors than any other sport on the Paralympic programme.

Did you know?

• Hoopla’ – based on the playground game, where rings are thrown onto a target pole – was an Athletics event at the original Stoke Mandeville International Games.
• At Sydney 2000, US track athlete Marla Runyan, a five-time Paralympic champion, became the first visually impaired athlete to compete at the Olympic Games, finishing eighth in the 1500m Final.
• Since 2005, Great Britain has hosted the annual Paralympic World Cup Athletics meeting at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Key facts

Venues: Olympic Stadium (track and field events) and The Mall (road events)
Dates: Friday 31 August – Sunday 9 September
Gold medals up for grabs: 166
Athletes: 1,100 (740 men, 360 women)

Part of the Paralympic programme since the first Games in Rome in 1960, the sport of Athletics has produced some of the most iconic images in the history of the Paralympic Movement, with legendary figures such as Louise Sauvage, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Oscar Pistorius making their names before a worldwide audience.

Some athletes compete in wheelchairs, others with prostheses, while a number of the visually impaired athletes compete with the guidance of a sighted companion.

Athletics at the Games

Speed, strength, power and stamina will all be on show in the Olympic Stadium, as athletes attempt to break world records across a large programme of events. Track and road races will be held over a variety of Olympic distances, from the 100m to the Marathon, while the programme of field events will include competitions in both throwing (Shot Put, Discus, Javelin, Club Throw) and jumping (Long Jump, High Jump, Triple Jump).

For more information on the history of the sports, visit the IPC website.

Get involved

Athletes with a disability will find plenty of help online. Visit UK Athletics, the British Wheelchair Athletics Association, the International Paralympic Committee website and Wheelpower

Learn more about how to get involved on the Parasport website

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