September 2016

Rio de Janeiro Hosts the Summer Paralympics

Brazilian swimmer Clodoaldo Silva lights the Paralympic flameBrazilian swimmer Clodoaldo Silva lights the Paralympic flame

Brazilian swimmer Clodoaldo Silva lights the Paralympic flame
Brazilian swimmer Clodoaldo Silva lit the Paralympic flame during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Paralympics.

The 2016 Summer Paralympics began on September 7 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The multi-sport event provides an opportunity for athletes with physical challenges to compete against one another. As in the main Olympic Games, the athletes who perform the best in each sport are awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals. The Paralympics take place once every four years. This year’s games mark the fifteenth time this international event has been held.

Several items make this year’s Summer Paralympics unique. It is the first time that this summer event is taking place during a host city’s winter season. Since Brazil is in the Southern Hemisphere, its seasons run opposite of those in the Northern Hemisphere. In addition, two new sports have been added to the games this year—canoe and triathlon.

A triathlon is a special event in which athletes compete in three separate sports, one right after the other, without taking a break or rest. Usually a triathlon involves bicycling, running, and swimming for different distances. In Paralympic triathlon events, athletes who cannot use their feet and legs may use bicycles that allow them to pedal with their hands and arms. They may also use a wheelchair for the running part of the event.

Grace Norman, an American athlete, won the first women’s gold medal in the triathlon at the Summer Paralympics this year. Norman is 18 years old. She was the youngest athlete to participate in this event.

Many other young athletes also competed in the Paralympics, such as 14-year-old Australian sprinter Isis Holt. She broke her own 100-meter record at this year’s games. Ellie Robinson, a 15-year-old competing for the United Kingdom, won a gold medal in the women’s 50-meter butterfly, a type of swimming stroke. Sixteen-year-old White Lewis also won a medal for the U.K. He captured the bronze in the men’s 400-meter freestyle swimming event.

Other sports at the Summer Paralympics this year include archery, table tennis, judo, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, shooting, equestrian, and more. Athletes from 159 countries competed in 22 different sports in this year’s games.

Image credit: ©Kay Nietfeld/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
 
Question 1
What third sport does a triathlon include after swimming and bicycling?





 
Question 2
How many countries competed in this year’s Summer Paralympics?






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