Paralympics kicks off in Rio

Paralympics kicks off in Rio
# 08 September 2016 05:43 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium lasts three hours and the stadium will also host the closing ceremony on September 18.

There are six categories at the Paralympics; amputee athletes, Cerebral Palsy athletes, vision impaired athletes, wheelchair athletes, intellectual impairment and Les Autres - French for 'the others', which in this case is disabilities not covered by the five other categories.

For each sport there are various classifications to ensure fairness. These classifications are then assigned numbers and used to determine differing levels of functional ability.

The 'para' in 'Paralympics' stands for 'parallel', not 'paraplegic' as many people assume, because the Games are held parallel, or equal, to the Olympic Games.

Since 1988 the Paralympics have taken place during the same summer and at the same venue as the corresponding Olympics.

Twenty four Azerbaijani paralympians have gained a total of 41 licenses on six sports for the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

#
#

THE OPERATION IS BEING PERFORMED