2010s Paralympic Summer Games Infographic

Click to zoom into a pdf of the Infographic. Statistics are from the IPC website

2010s Paralympic Winter Games Infographic

Click to zoom into a pdf of the Infographic. Statistics are from the IPC website

The Games have come a long way since their origins at Stoke Mandeville in 1948. Although the 2008 games at Beijing were famously described by the Chinese as “a games of equal splendour” in the way that there was so much more parity between Olympics and Paralympics, they were arguably surpassed in their turn by the London games of 2012.

The level at which sport is now practised at and its status has improved hugely. The whole thing is now much more focused. The athletes who now take part in the Paralympics are sportsmen who happen to be disabled; previously they were disabled people who happened to do a bit of sport. - Keith Delderfield, one of the organisers of the 1984 Stoke Mandeville games.

Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games

At the Vancouver Winter Games women could participate in ice sledge hockey for the first time. 502 athletes from 44 countries competed in 64 events in 5 sports. The Great Britain team consisting of 7 men and 5 women, competed in Alpine skiing and Wheelchair Curling, they didn't win any medals. Read more about the Vancouver Paralympic Winter Games here

London 2012 Paralympic Summer Games

The London 2012 Paralympic Games were the largest Paralympics to date. 4243 athletes from 164 countries, competing in 503 events in 20 sports. The ParalympicsGB team consisted of 177 men and 109 women who won a total of 120 medals, 34 gold, 43 silver and 43 bronze, finishing third in the medal table. Read more about the London Paralympic Summer Games here

Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games

The Sochi Games saw 538 athletes from 45 countries, competing in 72 events in 5 sports. The ParalympicsGB team consisted of 6 men and 9 women, competing in alpine skiing and wheelchair curling, they had a successful games, winning a total of 1 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals. Read more about the Sochi Paralympic Winter Games here

Rio 2016 Paralympic Summer Games

The Rio 2016 Paralympic Summer Games were the first to be hosted in Latin America. 4,328 Para athletes from 159 countries competed in 528 events across 22 sports. 220 world and 432 Paralympic records were broken and 83 countries won at least one medal, more than at any previous Paralympic Games. Read more about the Rio Paralympic Summer Games here

PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games

The PyeongChang 2018 Paralympics is the largest and most successful Winter Games to date. 569 athletes from 49 countries participated at these Games, including 3 newcomers Georgia, North Korea and Tajikistan. Read more about the PyeongChang Winter Games here