Histórico da Natação para Portadores de
Deficiência Física - History of major competitions

Paralympic Games

2000 - Sydney, Australia.

1996 - Atlanta, USA. Participants included athletes who were wheelchair users, les autres, amputees, visually impaired, cerebral palsied, and mentally disabled. Participants included approximately 3,000 athletes from more than 120 nations.

1992 - Barcelona, Spain, and Madrid, Spain. Participants included athletes who were wheelchair users, les autres, amputees, visually impaired, cerebral palsied, and mentally disabled. Participants included over 3,000 athletes with physical and vision disabilities from 92 countries in Barcelona, and more than 2,500 athletes with mental retardation from 75 countries in Madrid. The Barcelona Paralympic Games were conducted three weeks after the Barcelona Olympic Games.

1988 - Seoul, Korea. Participants included athletes who were wheelchair users, les autres, amputees, visually impaired, and cerebral palsied. Participants included over 3,000 athletes from 62 countries. The Games were held two weeks after the Olympics in the same venues. The Seoul Paralympics were the biggest and most spectacular games ever staged for athletes with disabilities.

1984 - New York, USA, and Stoke-Mandeville, England. Participants included athletes who were wheelchair users, amputees, visually impaired, and cerebral palsied. Participants included approximately 3,900 athletes from 45 countries. The wheelchair games were held in Stoke-Mandeville, and the other disability groups competed in New York. Demonstration wheelchair races were included at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

1980 - Arnhem, Holland. Participants included athletes who were wheelchair users, amputees, and visually impaired. Participants included approximately 2,550 athletes from 42 countries. The 1980 Olympics were conducted in Moscow. Unfortunately, sport for athletes with disabilities was virtually non-existent in the USSR and an alternative host nation was identified.

1976 - Etobicoke (Toronto), Canada. Participants included athletes who were wheelchair users, amputees, and visually impaired. Participants included approximately 1560 athletes from 42 countries. The Etobicoke Paralympic Games were conducted two weeks after the Montreal Olympic Games.

1972 - Heidelberg, Germany. All participants were wheelchair users. Participants included approximately 1,000 athletes from 44 countries.

1968 - Tel Aviv, Israel. All participants were wheelchair users. Participants included approximately 800 athletes from 29 countries. Tel Aviv was chosen so as to avoid the potentially hazardous effects of high altitude on quadriplegics with breathing impairments that was likely to be experienced in Mexico City.

1964 - Tokyo, Japan. All participants were wheelchair users. Participants included approximately 390 athletes from 22 countries.

1960 - Rome, Italy. All participants were wheelchair users. Participants included approximately 400 athletes from 23 countries. Rome was the host nation of the Olympics that year.

This historical perspective is adapted from Coaching Athletes with Disabilities: General Principles, edited by Scott Goodman, and published by the Australian Sports Commission.

Paralympic World Swimming Championships

1998 - The Second Paralympic World Swimming Championships were held October 12-17, 1998, at the QE II Sports Complex in Christchurch, New Zealand. Approximately 585 swimmers from 55 nations competed. The USA team won 7 gold, 11 silver, and 8 bronze medals for a 6th place tie in the total medal count.

1994 - The First Paralympic World Swimming Championships were held November 2-8, 1994, at the National Pool, University Swimming Pool Complex, Malta. The USA team won 2 gold, 2 silver, and 11 bronze medals for a 15th place finish in the total medal count.

World Games for the Deaf (jogos mundiais para deficientes auditivos)

2001 - Rome, Italy
1997 - Copenhagen, Denmark
1993 - Sofia, Bulgaria
1989 - Christchurch, New Zealand
1985 - Los Angeles, California, USA
1981 - Cologne, West Germany
1977 - Bucharest, Romania
1973 - Malmo, Sweden
1969 - Belgrade, Yugoslavia
1965 - Washington, DC, USA
1961 - Helsinki, Finland
1957 - Milan, Italy
1953 - Brussels, Belgium
1949 - Copenhagen, Denmark
10-year hiatus due to World War II
1939 - Stockholm, Sweden
1935 - London, England
1931 - Nuremberg, West Germany
1928 - Amsterdam, Netherlands
1924 -Paris, France

International Special Olympics Games

1999 - Raleigh, NC. Approximately 7,000 athletes from 150 countries are expected to compete in 19 sports, including swimming at the tenth Special Olympics World Games.

1995 - New Haven, CT. Over 7,000 athletes from 143 countries gathered in New Haven, Connecticut, for competition in 21 sports at the ninth Special Olympics World Games.

1991 - Minneapolis, MN - The eighth International Summer Special Olympics Games were held in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. Six thousand athletes from more than 100 countries made this the largest sporting event in the world in 1991. 1987 - South Bend, IN. The University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College hosted the seventh International Summer Special Olympics Games. More than 4,700 athletes from over 70 countries participated in 1987's largest amateur sports event. The Games were covered in Sports Illustrated and Time, and reached more than 150 million people worldwide.

1983 - Baton Rouge, LA. The sixth International Summer Special Olympics Games were held at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. A crowd of more than 60,000 attended the Opening Ceremonies and approximately 4,000 athletes participated.

1979 - Brockport, NY. The fifth International Summer Special Olympics Games took place at the State University of New York at Brockport with more than 3,500 athletes from every state in the U.S. and more than 20 countries.

1975 - Mt. Pleasant, MI. The fourth International Special Olympics Games took place at Central Michigan University, with 3,200 athletes from 10 countries taking part. The Games were broadcast nationwide on CBS' "Sports Spectacular."

1972 - Los Angeles, CA. The third International Special Olympics Games, held at the University of California - Los Angeles, attracted 2,500 participants.

1970 - Chicago, IL. The second International Special Olympics Games included 2,000 athletes from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, France, and Puerto Rico.

1968 - Chicago, IL. The first International Special Olympics Games, held at Soldier Field, included 1,000 athletes with mental retardation from 26 states and Canada competing in track and field, floor hockey, and aquatics

* Contribuição: Prof. Sérgio de Castro