Athletics has been part of the Paralympic Games since 1960. Events are open to male and female athletes in all disability groups eligible for Paralympic sport.

Advances in technology and athletes' dedication to the sport have made once unimaginable feats become realities. Some athletes compete in wheelchairs, others with prostheses and some athletes with blindness/vision impairment compete with the guidance of a sighted companion.

Athletes compete according to their functional classifications in each event and these events are continually being redefined to include as many athletes as possible.

Para-athletics is governed internationally by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). In Australia, the Australian Paralympic Committee is the National Federation for the sport. Through a mainstreaming Agreement, the APC funds Athletics Australia to deliver the Paralympic Preparation Program.

Links

Athletics Australia
International Paralympic Committee - Athletics

At the London Paralympics

Athletics will be the largest sport at the London Paralympic Games with 1,100 athletes (740 men, 360 women) competing across 170 medal events. There are 43 athletes on the Australian Paralympic Athletics Team.

Competition Dates

Friday 31 August - Sunday 9 September

Competition Venues

Track and field - Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park

Marathon - The Mall

Events/Disciplines

Track – 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10000m, 4X100m, 4X400m
Field – Shot Put, Discus, Javelin, Club Throw, Long Jump, High Jump
Road – Marathon
Combined – Pentathlon

Raza points system
In some athletics field events including shot put, discus, javelin and long jump, athletes from different classifications compete in the one event for one set of medals. The results are determined by a points system, known as Raza.

A mathematical formula is applied to each athlete’s throw or jumps distance to calculate a point’s score.  The athlete with the highest point score, irrespective of their classification is determined as the winner. This means that the athlete with the least impairment does not receive an unfair advantage. The system has been determined by tracking many athletes’ performances over a range of years including world rankings and results from benchmark events such as Paralympic Games and World Championships.  

In London, some events that use the Raza system are the women’s F42/44 long jump, F32/33/34 throws events and F12/13 throws and the men’s 32/33/34 throws events.

Combined class events
In some cases, where there is not an event available for a particular classification, athletes may have the option of competing up a class with athletes with less impairment. In London, track athletes in the T43 classification (double leg amputees or similar) compete with T44 (single leg amputees or similar), because there has not historically been enough athletes to make an event for the T43 athletes.

For these events there is not a points or factoring system used to determine the results.  It is simply a matter of who runs the fastest, throws or jumps the furthest wins. Other events in London include the T33/34 and 45/46 track events.

Classification

Athletics is open to athletes with a:

• Vision impairment

• Physical impairment, such as limb loss, cerebral palsy, brain injury, joint restrictions, short stature, spinal injury or nerve damage

• Intellectual disability

Athletes receive a class for Track (denoted by a T) and a class for Field (denoted by F).

CLICK HERE for a detailed explanation of the different athletics classes.

Rules & Equipment

Many athletics events require specific sports equipment for example, the discus, shot or javelin.  In addition athletes may use assistive devices as specified in the IPC Athletics rules.  This technology continues to advance at a rapid rate.

Wheelchairs are considered sports equipment in track and field events. Athletics wheelchairs tend to be very lightweight. The dimensions and features of wheelchairs are clearly specified in the IPC Athletics rules.

Prosthetic devices may be used by amputees. These have been specifically developed to withstand the demands of sports competition. IPC rules require the use of leg prostheses in track events; however, the use of prostheses in field events is optional.

Rope tethers or other devices may be used by runners with a vision impairment to link with their sighted guides. Acoustic devices (or a sighted "caller") may be used to indicate take-off in jumping events, throwing target areas, etc.