Paralympic athletes from around the world competed in the London 2012 Paralympic Games from 29 August to 9 September.
4,280 athletes from 166 countries chased 503 golds in 20 different sports in just 11 fantastic days.
For the first time since Sydney 2000, athletes with a learning disability took part.
It was great!
Congratulations to Jessica-Jane Applegate!
Jessica Jane-Applegate stormed to gold in the 200 metres freestyle to become the first British athlete from the intellectually disabled classification to win gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
More >
The sports and the athletes
You can find out more
on the Official London 2012 Paralympic website. Ever had a go at Boccia?
Find out more about the Paralympic sports here
There is a lot of
information about UK sports for people with a learning disability, as well as Paralympic information,
on the Mencap website. Each sport has different physical demands and so has its own set of classifications. Find out the disability classifications eligible for each sport
on the BBC website.
This video tells you the inspiring story of
how athletes with intellectual disabilities have re-joined the Paralympics for London 2012. Athletes, the GB Head Coach, the GB Team Manager, the Chief Executive of the UK Sports Association and the Head of Eligibility for Inas discuss what is involved to become eligible to compete on this world stage, and the anticipated legacies of London 2012 for athletes with intellectual disabilities.
Watch the video on YouTube.
Who organises it all?
The International Paralympic Committee is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. It organises the summer and winter Paralympic Games and act as the International Federation for nine sports, supervising and coordinating World Championships and other competitions.
Find out more on their website.
Download The Paralympian the magazine of the International Paralympic movement.
The British Paralympic Association, is the National Paralympic Committee for Great Britain.
It's their responsibility to select, prepare, enter, fund and manage the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team at the Paralympic Games.
Find out more about their work and the team on their website.
Inas is the International Federation for athletes with an intellectual disability. It was formed in 1985 and has grown to a membership of more than 50 nations across the World, representing many thousands of athletes with an intellectual disability.
Find out more on their website.
The
UK Sports Association for People with Learning Disability (UKSA) is the only organisation for sport for people with learning disability that has a truly UK wide remit and has the responsibility for classification of athletes with learning disability in the UK.
Find out more on their website.
Had a look, now want to try a sport?
Doing Sport Differently is produced by Disability Rights Uk and is written by and for people with lived experience of disability or health conditions and covers the benefits of sport and fitness, how you can get involved – whether playing, watching or coaching. It’s not just for the next Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, but for everyone! It needn’t be competitive, it needn’t be hard work, it just needs to be fun.
Download from the RADAR website. The UK Sports Association for People with Learning Disability have a
Sports and Disability contacts document you can download and see who the contacts are for the sport you're interested in. Published in 2008, the names of the contacts might have changed but the organisations and contact details should still be the same.
Download a copy from their website.
What's your personal best?Parasport has been designed to inspire, educate, inform and signpost disabled people, and those interested in disability sport, to high quality opportunities. We aim to help you find your personal best.
Go to the Parasport website.
Mencap sportThe Mencap website is a great place to look for information about participating in sports and links to ways to get started.
Find out more on the Mencap website.
