Learn stories and curiosities of Brazil at the Paralympic Games
Paralympic sport emerged in Stoke Mandeville, England, where the first sporting competitions for the disabled took place as a way to rehabilitate injured military personnel in World War II. Some modalities emerged from the adaptation of conventional Olympic versions to ensure the inclusion of disabled people, such as swimming, athletics, rugby and many others. The only paralympic sport is goalball (for the visually impaired).
Paralympic sport is in constant development and, increasingly, several athletes reach the level of high performance and start competing in official competitions and representing Brazil on the world stage.
The Brazilian Paralympic Committee
The Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB) was born in 1995, following an international trend of creating national committees after the emergence of the IPC (International Paralympic Committee). The idea was to bring together the entities that represent the sport for people with disabilities at the national level and thus guarantee strength and unity for the athletes.
Today, the CPB is responsible for governing Paralympic sport in Brazil, organizing the country's participation in continental, world and Paralympic Games competitions, as well as promoting sport development events.
The committee directly coordinates five Paralympic sports: athletics, swimming, weightlifting, wheelchair fencing and sports shooting. The other 17 are the responsibility of organizations representing each sport - this performance occurs with the consulting and financial transfer of CPB.
Who finances the CPB?
The Committee receives funds from the Agnelo / Piva law, which requires that 2.7% of gross revenues from federal lotteries be transferred to COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee) and CPB in the percentage of 62.96% and 37.04%, respectively. In addition to this benefit, CPB has several partnerships and agreements with the Ministry of Sports, Caixa Lotteries, the State Government of SP and the City Hall of RJ. Braskem also sponsors athletics. These investments go to athletes, events, training, courses and so on.
And the modalities?
In all, 22 sports are part of the Paralympic Games program. They are very similar to the traditional version, except for some adaptations and specific functional classification. These are: triathlon, canoeing, athletics, goalball, swimming, wheelchair tennis, seated volleyball, wheelchair basketball, weightlifting, rowing, archery, bocce ball, 5-a-side football, 7-a-side football, horse riding, cycling, wheelchair rugby, sports shooting, wheelchair fencing, judo, table tennis and sailing.
Each sport determines its own functional classification system based on functional skills, identifying key areas that affect performance for the basic performance of the chosen sport.
What is the best performance of Brazil in Games?
Regarding the placement in the medal table, the best participation of Brazil was in London / 2012. The Brazilian delegation finished the Games in 7th place in the overall ranking, with 43 medals, 21 of them gold, 14 silver and 8 bronze.
However, in Beijing / 2008, Brazil got the highest number of medals in total: 47, being 16 gold, 14 silver and 17 bronze. In Chinese territory, the Brazilian delegation occupied the 9th place in the general medal table. Our goal for the Rio 2016 Games is to be 5th on the big board.
Which athlete has the most medals in Games?
The swimmer Daniel Dias owns 15 medals, 10 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze. In Beijing, Daniel finished the games with 4 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze. In London, the swimmer won 6 more Paralympic gold medals in his career. He has also won 3 Laureus awards, equivalent to the Oscars for the sports world.
What about the Rio 2016 Games?
The Rio 2016 Paralympic Games will take place after the Olympic Games, from September 7 to 18, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil will have around 270 athletes, representing the country in 22 sports - the largest delegation of these Games. It is worth mentioning our debut in archery, a modality that already existed, but we had never participated.
Paralympic or Paralympic?
Confusion is quite common, as the most common term was “Paralympic”; however, it has been agreed with the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) the use of “Paralympic” due to the translation of Paralympic from English.
Article made with the collaboration of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee
* **
Are you looking forward to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic Games? Comment on the Mega Curious Forum
