How does the Paralympic classification system work?

Seventeen days after the closing ceremony of an outstanding Olympics, France is hosting its next global sporting event as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games get underway.

In what is the first Summer Paralympic Games in the French capital, more than 4,000 athletes from around the world will take part in 549 medal events across 22 sports at the Games, according to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

The 2024 Paralympic Games run from August 28 to September 8.

One thing that can seem confusing though to new viewers of the Paralympics is its unique classification system.

“Classification is the cornerstone of the Paralympic Movement, it determines which athletes are eligible to compete in a sport and how athletes are grouped together for competition,” says the IPC.

So to fully understand what each competition involves, here’s everything you need to know about the Paralympic classification system:

What makes a Paralympian?

Paralympians are grouped together by the “degree of activity limitation resulting from the impairment,” according to the IPC.

As different sports require different physical demands, the IPC says the classification process “aims to minimize the impact of the impairment on athletes’ performance” so that their athletic prowess is showcased.

The classification groups are designated a letter, normally the sport’s initial and a number. Typically, the lower the number, the greater the impairment, but that’s not always the case, per the Olympics website.

The IPC’s process of “Athlete Evaluation” seeks to answer three questions.

Does the athlete have a permanent ‘Eligible Impairment’?

First, it has to be deemed whether the athlete has an “underlying health condition,” which has led to a “permanent Eligible Impairment.” The assessment is carried out by the International Sport Federation governing body which oversees each individual sport.

There are 10 different impairment types. They are often divided into three groups of impairment: physical (impaired muscle power, impaired range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis and short stature), vision and intellectual.

While some sports offer competitive opportunities for all 10 impairments – for example, para swimming and athletics – there are sports which are specific to one impairment, like goalball for vision impairments.

Does the athlete meet the ‘Minimum Impairment Criteria’ for their sport?

Once it has been assessed whether or not an athlete has an “Eligible Impairment,” it then has to be determined whether the athlete meets the “Minimum Impairment Criteria.”

Each sport’s classification has rules to “describe how severe an Eligible Impairment must be for an athlete to be considered eligible to compete,” per the IPC website.

The “Minimum Impairment Criteria” is used to determine whether the athlete’s “Eligible Impairment” affects their ability to perform the tasks which are specific to their sport.

Examples of the minimum impairment criteria include maximum height defined for athletes with short stature or a level of amputation defined for athletes with limb deficiency. The criteria is based on scientific research.

“If an athlete is not eligible to compete in a sport, this does not question the presence of a genuine impairment. It is a sport ruling,” the IPC says.

What do the classes in each sport mean?

The final step is deciding an athlete’s sports class.

While sports such as para ice hockey and para weightlifting have just one class, others have many different classes to include all 10 eligible impairments and with many different disciplines. In track and field, there are over 50 classes.

The class groups athletes with similar athletic limitations so that they can compete to similar levels, but does not necessarily have to solely group athletes with the same eligible impairment.

“If different impairments cause similar activity limitation, athletes with these impairments are allowed to compete together,” the IPC said.

Because some impairments progress over time, athletes can change classification multiple times during their career.

The final two stages are carried out by a classification panel which includes a minimum of two classifiers who are trained experts in their field and who the IPC describes as having “complimentary knowledge about impairments and their impact on the respective sports.” Examples of these classifiers include physicians, physiotherapists, coaches, sport scientists, psychologists and ophthalmologists.

Examples of some sport classes

Track and Jump (Running and jumping events with the prefix T)

T11-13: Vision impairment

T20: Intellectual impairment

T45-47: Upper limb or limbs affected by limb deficiency, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement

Para Taekwondo (Prefix K used due to Korean word for sparring, ‘kyorugi’)

K43:Bilateral amputation below the elbow, or equivalent loss of function in both upper limbs

K44: Unilateral arm amputation (or equivalent loss of function), or loss of toes which impact the ability to lift the heel properly

Para Cycling (Prefixes used B for blind tandems, C for cycling, T for tricycle, H for handbike)

H1 to H5: Spinal cord injuries or competing with prosthesis in one or both lower limbs.

T1 and T2: Locomotor dysfunction and balance issues, like cerebral palsy or hemiplegia

A more complete list of the sport classes can be found here

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