The Paralympics began as recreational and rehabilitation opportunities organized by British doctor, Ludwig Guttmann, for World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries at the Stoke Mandeville hospital. The games were initially only for wheelchair users, but this movement expanded to include other athletes with different disabilities and was named the Stoke Mandeville Games with the first competition in 1948. The first Paralympic games were held in the summer of 1960 in Rome, Italy with athletes from 23 countries competing.
Megan Blunk
Blunk was paralyzed at the age of nineteen in a motorcycle accident. She received a scholarship to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for the women’s wheelchair basketball team. Blunk is a two sport athlete: she competes in paracanoeing and plays center for the United States women’ s wheelchair basketball team.
Understanding the Paralympic Classifications
I will be analyzing the “Explanatory guide to Paralympic classification- Paralympic summer sports,” compiled by the International Paralympics Committee, and I will also be examining Megan Blunk’s position as a two sport Paralympic athlete to explore the inclusivity and perception of the games.
