Independent Paralympic Athletes at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Template:Infobox Paralympics IPA The Independent Paralympic Athletes Team, a team consisting of refugee and asylee Paralympic athletes, will compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016. Its creation was announced on 5 August 2016.
Participation
The team was announced on August 5, 2016 by the International Paralympic Committee.[1] Participants were nominated for the team by National Paralympic Committees who were aware of qualified sportspeople. The International Paralympic Committee stepped in to assist with getting athletes ready by doing a number of things, including insuring that athletes were classified.[1]
On 26 August 2016, the IPC announced the two members of the refugee team: Ibrahim Al Hussein of Syria, who will compete in the S10 50 and 100 m freestyle swimming events, and Shahrad Nasajpour of Iran, who will compete in F37 Discus.[2][3] Tony Sainsbury will be the chef de mission of the team; Sainsbury has previously been the chef de mission of the British Paralympic Team at five Paralympics.[2]
| Parathlete | Country of origin | Host NPC | Sport | Event | Class | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ibrahim Al Hussein | ♂ |  Syria
|
 Greece
|
Swimming | 100m freestyle; 50m freestyle | S10 | [4] |
| Shahrad Nasajpour | ♂ |  Iran
|
 USA
|
Athletics | Discus | F37 | [4] |
Disability classifications
Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories; amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis.[5][6] Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Some sports, such as athletics, divide athletes by both the category and severity of their disabilities, other sports, for example swimming, group competitors from different categories together, the only separation being based on the severity of the disability.[7]
Athletics
| Athlete | Events | Result | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shahrad Nasajpour | Discus F37 | 39.64 | 11 |
Swimming
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Ibrahim Al Hussein | 50 m freestyle S9 | 35.54 | 18 | Did not advance | |
| 100 m freestyle S9 | 1:20.98 | 21 | Did not advance | ||
See also
References
- ^ a b "Refugees to compete in dedicated team at Rio 2016 Paralympics". International Paralympic Committee. International Paralympic Committee. August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
- ^ a b "Rio Paralympics: Two refugee Para-athletes named for Rio Paralympics". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ "Ibrahim Al Hussein spreads message of hope". IPC. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Rio Paralympics to welcome refugee team". RT (Russia). 27 August 2016.
- ^ "Paralympics categories explained". ABC. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
- ^ "Making sense of the categories". BBC Sport. 6 October 2000. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
- ^ "A-Z of Paralympic classification". BBC Sport. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
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