A Quick Guide to Para Athletics 🏃🏽♂️➡️🏃🏻➡️👩🏻🦽➡️
Updated: Oct 12
Did you know Hong Kong's first Paralympics gold was earned from a para athletics event (women's 4 x 400m)? Not to mention So Wah-wai, one of the pioneers of inclusion and most-decorated, locally beloved Paralympians was a runner. It's safe to say para athletics is one of the most widely known sport in the community, among other para sports.
What is Para Athletics？
From just one event (wheelchair race) in 1960, para athletics has evolved to today's wide range of track and field events for both male and female athletes. Here's the 101 of the biggest para sport, divided into T (tracks) and F (fields) events based on IPC classification (the smaller the number, the more severe the impairment is):
T (Running & Jumping – sprints, high jump and long jump)
T11-13 vision impairment
T20 intellectual impairment
T35-38 co-ordination impairments (hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis) / T32-34 wheelchair / T71-72 frame running
T40-41 short stature
T42-44 lower limb deficiency, competing without prosthesis
T45-47 upper limb(s) deficiency
T61-64 lower limb(s) deficiency, competing with prosthesis
T51-54 limb deficiency, competing with wheelchair
F (Throws – shot put, discus, javelin, and club throw)
*All standing classes except marked as "seated"
F11-13 vision impairment
F20 intellectual impairment
F35-38 co-ordination impairments (hypertonia, ataxia and athetosis) / F31-34 seated
F40-41 short stature
F42-44 lower limb deficiency, competing without prosthesis
F45-46 upper limb(s) deficiency
F61-64 lower limb(s) deficiency, competing with prosthesis
F51-57 limb deficiency, seated
The Amazing Guides
It's common to think athletics is an individual sport, so many are curious about how vision-impaired running works.
Differences between T11, T12 & T13:
T11: Completely blind, very low visual acuity, or no light perception at all. Must compete with a guide runner, wearing blackout shades or opaque lenses.
T12: Visual acuity 2/60 or lower, and/or visual field radius less than 5 degrees. Can opt to compete with a guide runner or run alone.
T13: Visual acuity 2/60 or higher, and/or visual field radius between 5 to 20 degrees. Must run alone.
💡 Trivia about Guides (rules & regulations)
Number of guides allowed: 1 (400m below); 2 (400m-5,000m); 4 (marathon, substitutions permitted at 10km, 20km and 30km marks)
Can use verbal cues to remind athlete solely for navigation, but cannot calculate distance for pacing
Cannot push, pull, or physically propel the athlete forward
Must be joined with the athlete by a tether at the hand/arm. A detached/broken tether results in disqualification
Must cross the finish line AND cross after the athlete
Podium & Medal? Only finalists are eligible for medals. More specifically, (1) Individual events - guides who have competed the full event (from first round to final), and (2) Relay events - (multi) guide(s) who've competed the final. For other guides, all guides in all events are eligible to receive diplomas.
🪢 Trivia about Tether
Made of two closed holding loops, and a middle section
Made from non-elastic material and shall not store energy and/or offer a performance gain to an athlete
The middle section shall be of a distinctive colour and be distinguishable from a distance to the rest of the tether, and must have a minimum length of 10cm
Maximum length: 30cm (track events); 50cm (road events)
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