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Paralympics

The Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 (SLOC) was the first Organizing Committee to completely integrate the organization of both the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. SLOC staged the VIII Paralympic Games March 7 - 16, 2002, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Paralympic Games are the world's premier gathering of disabled athletes. In 2002, the Paralympics involved more than 1,100 athletes and officials. The competitions were held at venues throughout the Wasatch Front.

History

The Paralympic movement began as the dream of an English neurosurgeon Sir Ludwig Guttman, with the goal of providing athletes with disabilities the opportunity to compete at an international level equivalent to non-disabled athletes. His vision was an Olympics for athletes with disabilities. The first Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960 with 400 athletes representing 23 countries. Although the term Paralympics originally was derived from the word paraplegic, the prefix "para" is now interpreted as defining the games for disabled athletes which have evolved to "parallel" and complement to the Olympic Games. The first Paralympic Winter Games were held in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden in 1976. The 1988 summer Paralympic Games in Seoul, Korea was considered the beginning of the modern Paralympics as the emphasis clearly shifted from a "rehab" model to one of sport and athletic competition. Since the 1992 Games in Albertville, France, the Winter Olympic host city has also hosted the Paralympics Games.

Venues

Venues used for competition included Soldier Hollow, the 'E' Center, and and Snowbasin Ski Area. Two non-competition venues were located in Salt Lake on the University of Utah campus: Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and the Paralympic Winter Village for athlete and official housing. The Main Media Center was located at the 'E' Center.

Participants

Close to 40 National Paralympic Committees participated in the Salt Lake Paralympic Winter Games, with up 48,220 people participating in the Salt Lake Paralympics each day. Participants were comprised of four main groups: athletes and officials, the media, volunteers and employees, and spectators.

Tickets

More than 325,000 tickets were available for sale for the 2002 Paraolympic Winter Games.

Sports And Events

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) chose 26 events in three sports to take place in the Salt Lake Paralympics. They were:

The Sport Program for the Salt Lake Paralympics was based upon the provisions of the IPC Charter.

More Information
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