Everything you need to know about Paralympic qualifications

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By Maya Cantina

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Are you all ready for watch the 2024 paralympic games. But when you click on an event, you can’t help but wonder: Why are there 16 different men’s 100-meter races on the track and seven different groups of women swimming the 400-meter freestyle in the pool?! And what are all those letters and numbers next to each race’s name?

The answer to both is classification, a system that groups athletes according to their type of disability (e.g. visual impairment, reduced muscle strength or limb impairment) and how it affects their ability to perform the skills required for their sport. Here’s what you need to know about the system to understand what you’re watching as the Paralympics roll on.

Why are there Paralympic classifications in the first place?

The goal is to make the competition as fair as possible by matching athletes with similar abilities. Otherwise, the less disabled athlete would usually prevail, according to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). With the classification, winning becomes a matter of fitness, skill, focus, athletic ability — or, as the IPC puts it describes instead, “sporting excellence.”

Although athletes often compete against people with similar types of disabilities, the exact health condition is less important than how — and how much — it affects their movement, coordination, and balance. So, for example, athletes with spinal cord injuries, birth defects like spina bifida, and complications from a viral illness can compete against each other if their conditions have similar effects on their bodies, for example. World Paralympic Athletics.

How does it all break down?

Ten types of disabilities make athletes eligible to compete in Paralympic sports at the international level. Eight are physical disabilities, including short stature; limb impairment, such as amputation; and lack of muscle strength, usually due to paralysis. The other two are visual impairment and intellectual disability.

Some sports, such as track and field (also known as athletics) and swimming, have opportunities for athletes with all 10 disabilities. Others are specific to one disability. For example, goalball is only for visually impaired athletesand para-powerlifting is a bench press competition for those with leg or hip limitations and has only weight categories, not specific classes. Meanwhile, events such as para-dressage and para-cycling have categories for a limited number of disabilities.

So what exactly do the letters and numbers mean?

Athletes are grouped into sport classes, first by the type of disability and then by the degree to which their disabilities affect them and their ability to compete.

The letters correspond to the sport. For example, S for swimming, T for track (running and jumping), F for field (throwing), SH for shooting, and PR for para-rowing. Some sports also have subcategories within them. Road cyclists, for example, might be in a class that starts with C for cycling, H for handcycling, T for tricycling, or B for blind cyclists, who compete on tandem bicycles.

The numbers refer to both the type and degree of impairment and vary by sport. Higher numbers usually, though not always, mean less severe impairments. In swimming, for example, classes S11 to S13 are for visually impaired athletes. S11 athletes have little or no vision and wear sunglasses so that everyone can compete equally, while S13 Athletes may have limited peripheral vision, but can see the end of the pool at a maximum distance of 5 meters (approximately 16 feet).

Why are classes different by sport?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach because each sport has its own history and governing body that decides the rules for its competitors. Plus, each requires specific skills and movements. What holds one person back on the track may not be as big of a problem for someone in wheelchair fencing or paracanoeing, and vice versa.

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