Since its inception, the Paralympic Games have always strived to showcase great sporting talent with a range of physical and sensory disabilities. So the inclusion of athletes with intellectual disabilities has been a much more checkered and controversial battle over who or how they should be admitted. For many years, the Paralympics featured events that were open to participants with intellectual disabilities. This began at the 1996 Atlanta Games, where sports such as basketball, track and field and swimming held events specifically for athletes with intellectual disabilities. However, this integration was short-lived and was destroyed by a major scandal at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics.
It turned out that there were no real cases of disability in
the mental disability category that was supposed to be included by the Spanish
team. The revelation seriously questioned the credibility of the
classification, system and testing of these athletes. The International
Paralympic Committee (IPC) was therefore forced to suspend all events for
people with intellectual disabilities from the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games.
This was a devastating blow to many athletes such as Swedish shot putter
Jeffrey Ige, who was in his prime and expected to win a medal in Athens before the
category was eliminated. It was not until the 2012 London Games that the IPC
reintroduced events for mentally disabled athletes, and even then the options
were extremely limited.
Today there are only three sports in the Paralympics,
athletics, swimming and table tennis, that allow a single category of
intellectual disability. Of the more than 4,400 Paralympians competing in Tokyo
2020, only about 120 have an intellectual disability. And within these three
sports, the number of medal events for this group represents only a small
fraction of the total. This lack of inclusion has led advocates and families to
call on the Paralympics to do more to accommodate athletes with a wider range
of intellectual disabilities. A petition organized by the parents of Spanish
athlete Mikel Garcia, who has Down syndrome, has collected over 100,000
signatures calling for better representation.
The arguments of these supporters are convincing.
Paralympians with physical or sensory disabilities are rightly celebrated for
overcoming significant challenges to compete at the highest level. But people
with intellectual disabilities also face enormous barriers, both in sport and
in society in general. Shouldn’t they be given the same platform and
recognition? Furthermore, the separation of the Paralympics and the Special
Olympics, which primarily involve athletes with intellectual disabilities,
reinforces the idea that these individuals are fundamentally different and
“other” compared to their physically disabled peers. The combination of the two
events could help reduce these stigmas and prejudices.
On the other hand, the IPC's caution regarding the inclusion
of athletes with intellectual disabilities is understandable given the damage
caused by the 2000 cheating scandal. Developing fair and effective
classification systems for this population is extremely complex. And
restrictions on the total number of Paralympians could make it difficult to
dramatically expand events in this area.
I believe the ideal solution would be to find ways to better
integrate athletes with intellectual disabilities into the core Paralympic
program rather than allocating them to a separate event. This may require a
phased approach with a gradual increase in the number and type of events
offered. But the Paralympic movement should strive to be as inclusive as
possible of all people with disabilities who are athletically capable of
competing at elite levels. People with disabilities of all kinds deserve to be
visible, celebrated and empowered. The Paralympic Games have the potential to
be a platform for this, but only if they work together to expand opportunities
for athletes with intellectual disabilities.
References
France24. (2021).
Athletes with intellectual disability
battle for Paralympic space. Retrieved from France24: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210831-athletes-with-intellectual-disability-battle-for-paralympic-space
NPHT. (2024). Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Summer Games.
Retrieved from NPHT: https://www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/atlanta-1996-paralympic-summer-games#:~:text=There%20were%20several%20demonstration%20sports,compete%20at%20a%20Paralympic%20Games.
Pavitt, M.
(2021). Official sanctioned over Sydney
2000 Paralympics scandal denies knowledge of cheating. Retrieved from
Inside the Games: https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1113226/sydney-2000-paralympics-scandal-boss