How the Paralympic movement evolved into a major sporting event The Paralympic Games are relatively new compared to the Olympics. But the event has tee (PC) has included more athletes with a wider array of disabilities, and from a larger num oved dramatically from its beginnings. Every four years the International Paralympic Commi ber of countries, playing more sports. physical impairments had existed for at least 60 years before that The first Paralympic Games were played in 1948, although sporting activities for athletes with Ludwig Guttmann, a doctor who ran a spinal injury center in Great Britain, spearheaded the movement. He believed that participating in athletics would be a form of mental and physi cal rehabilitation [...] Vocabulário wolved evoluu pearheaded liderou; idealizou Texto 2 vietory/artidehow-the-paralympic movement 2:21 Fragments Paralympic Games Paralympic Games, major international sports competition for athletes with disabilities. Com- parable to the Olympic Games, the Paralympics are split into Winter Games and Summer Games, which alternately occur every two years. Many of the same Olympic events are included -such as Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and biathlon for winter sports and cycling, archery, and swimming for summer sports - although sports equipment for the Paralympics may be mo- dified for specific disabilities. Since the late 20th century the Paralympics have been held in the same city that hosts the corresponding Olympic Games; the Paralympics follow shortly after the Olympics conclude. The International Paralympic Committee, which was founded in 1989 and is based in Germany, governs the Paralympic Games. [...] The size and diversity of the Paralympic Games have increased greatly over the years. The Paralympics in 1960 hosted 400 athletes from 23 countries participating in eight sports. Just over 50 years later, at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, more than 4,200 athletes repre- senting 164 countries participated in 20 sports.
