Athletics: 12 Facts for London 2012

Athletics has been a part of the Paralympics since the first Games in Rome in 1960 and attracts the largest number of athletes and spectators.

1. Who, what, when?

There will be 1,100 athletes competing on the track and field in 170 medal events from 31 August – 9 September.

2. Where?

The Athletics competition will take place at the Olympic Stadium inside Olympic Park on an island site which spectators will reach via five different bridges.

3. Classification

Athletes are grouped according to how much their impairment impacts their performance in their specific event.

• Classes 11-13: Athletes with a visual impairment.

• Class 20: Athletes with an intellectual impairment.

• Classes 31-38: Athletes with cerebral palsy, with classes 31-34 using a wheelchair to compete.

• Classes 40-46: Athletes with a loss of limb or limb deficiency.

• Classes 51-58: Wheelchair racers or field athletes who throw from a seated position.

4. History

Athletics has been a part of the Paralympics since the first Games in Rome in 1960 and attracts the largest number of athletes and spectators.

5. Guidance

Runners who are visually impaired in Classes 11-13 may receive guidance on the track from a sighted guide who runs their race along with them.

6. Fastest on earth

Irish visually impaired sprinter Jason Smyth is the fastest Paralympian on earth, clocking the 100m T13 in 10.57 last year in Daegu, Korea.

7. Nicknames

Many Paralympians on the Athletics scene have adopted nicknames to make themselves household names around the world. Some of the best include: “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius, “Swiss Silver Bullet” Marcel Hug and “Blade Babe” Marlou van Rhijn.

8. Best of the best

Switzerlands’ Franz Nietlispach and Canada’s Chantal Petitclerc are the top two medal winners in the history of the sport. Both of them accumlated 14 gold and 21 overall medals in their careers.

9. Lots to see

On the London 2012 Paralympic programme, the track events include: Sprint (100m, 200m, 400m), middle distance (800m, 1,500m), long distance (1,500m, 10,000m) and relays (4x100m, 4x400m). Field events include: High jump, long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus and javelin. The marathon is the only road event and the pentathlon is the sole combined event.

10. Leveling the playing field

In the field events, because some of them are contested by athletes from different classifications, a point-scoring system is used to determine the winners of the event.

11. Men to watch

Keep your eyes on the following men’s competitors in Athletics at London 2012: Australia’s Kurt Fearnley and Evan O’Hanlon, Great Britain’s David Weir and Dan Greaves, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug, USA’s Jerome Singleton and Jarryd Wallace, Ireland’s Jason Smyth, South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius and Germany’s Heinrich Popow.

12. Women to watch

Be sure to follow the following women’s competitors in Athletics at London 2012: Australia’s Kelly Cartwright, Canada’s Michelle Stilwell, USA’s Tatyana McFadden and April Holmes, and Brazil’s Terezinha Guilhermina and Shirlene Coelho.

Related Images

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Caption

Brazil's sprinter at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand.