The other Olympics

Just after the Summer Olympics is another special event.

The Paralympic Games, which run from 29 Aug to 9 Sept, will use most of the same venues and offer you a very special experience.

Note here that the 'para' in the name has nothing to do with paraplegics. It derives from the Greek word prefix para, which means alongside, as in parallel. (Think paralegal or paramedical.) So, Paralympics simply means alongside the Olympics.

These games have their origins in an event after the World War II, which featured competitive events between several city hospitals. Started by Dr. Ludwig Guttmann of Stoke Mandeville Hospital, it was called the Stoke Mandeville Games, and was held on the day that the Summer Olympics started in London that year.

In 1952, at the same location, Dutch WWII veterans also took part in the games, making it in international event. Rome, in 1960, saw the first official Paralympic Games, with athletes from 23 countries competing. Since then, the Paralympics have traditionally been held in the same year as the Olympics.

In 1976, the Paralympics opened to athletes with other disabilities (until then, it was for those who were in wheelchairs). These games saw 1,600 athletes from 40 countries participating. In 1988, Seoul, for the first time, the Paralympics were held immediately after the Olympics, using the same facilities. This happened in 1992 (Barcelona) and 1996 (Atlanta) as well. In 2001, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made it formal: since then, the host city of the Olympics commits to hosting the Paralympics as well. Beijing, in 2009, saw over 3,900 athletes from 146 countries participating: a record.

In a homage to its origins, the mascot of the 2012 Paralympics is named Mandeville.