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Level 2 – Pre-intermediate
Paralympics
The Parallel Olympic Games, or Paralympics, were first held in Britain in 1948. A doctor treating disabled World War 2 soldiers set up sporting events between hospitals at the same time as the Olympic Games were taking place in Britain. The doctor was helping these young disabled men to gain self-esteem by practising a physical activity.
The first modern Paralympics were held in 1960 in Rome, when 400 wheelchair athletes competed at the Olympic city. Since then the Games have grown in size and are held every four years at the same venue as the Olympic Games.
The 2004 Paralympics were held in Athens from 17 to 28 September and were the biggest to date. Over 4,000 athletes from 140 countries competed in 19 sports, including swimming and wheelchair basketball and tennis. Greece does not have a tradition of disabled sport, but nevertheless it proved to be a perfect host. Although the crowds watching the events were smaller than in Sydney in 2000, a large number of schoolchildren attended the Games every day and were able to learn more about disabled sport.
The next Paralympics will be held in China in 2008.
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C2 Mastery
