History of the Paralympic Movement

The birth of the Paralympic movement

In 1948, a doctor at the Stoke Mandeville Rehabilitation Hospital, Ludwig Guttmann, together with Sir Luke Guinness, organized sports games for injured World War II veterans and brought together British veterans returning from the Second World War with spinal cord damage to participate in sports competitions.

Called the "Father of Sports for the Disabled," Guttman was a strong proponent of using sports to improve the quality of life for people with spinal cord injuries. The first Games, which became the prototype of the Paralympic Games, were called the Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games 1948 and coincided with the Olympic Games in London.

The IX Stoke Mandeville Games, which were open not only to war veterans, took place in 1960 in Rome. They are considered the first official Paralympic Games (the numbering of the Paralympic Games was adopted "retroactively" in 1988). 400 wheelchair athletes from 23 countries competed in Rome. Since that time, the rapid development of the Paralympic movement in the world began.

In 1989, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) was created.

Kazakhstan at the Paralympic Games

For the first time, Kazakhstan took part in the Paralympic Games at the Winter Games in Lillehammer in 1994. Since then, the country has participated in 8 Summer and 7 Winter Paralympic Games. 

In 1996, Kazakhstan made its debut at the Summer Paralympic Games in Atlanta.

Medals at the Summer Paralympic Games:

games Gold Silver bronze total Place
2016 Rio 1 1 1 1 39
2020 Tokyo 1 3 1 5 52
2024 Paris 2 3 4 9 39
Total 4 7 5 16 -

Rio 2016 Summer Paralympic Games medalists

Zulfiya Gabidullina - won the first gold medal in the history of Kazakhstan at the Summer Paralympic Games. In Rio de Janeiro, she became first in the 100-meter freestyle in para swimming.

Raushan Koishibaeva - won a silver medal in pair powerlifting, lifting a weight of 113 kg in the category up to 67 kilograms.

Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games medalists

David Degtyarev - won a gold medal at a steam powerlifting competition, lifting a weight of 174 kg in the weight category up to 54 kilograms.

Anuar Sariev - won a silver medal in para judo in the weight category up to 60 kilograms.

Daulet Temirzhan - won a silver medal in para judo in the weight category up to 73 kilograms.

Zarina Baybatina – won a silver medal in para judo in the +70 kilogram weight category.

Nurdaulet Zhumagali won bronze in the 100-meter breaststroke in para swimming.

Winners of the Summer Paralympic Games Paris 2024

David Degtyarev - won a gold medal in the para powerlifting competition in the weight category up to 54 kg. He conquered the weight of 188 kg and thereby became the first two-time Paralympic champion in the history of Kazakhstan.

Akmaral Nauatbek - in para judo in the weight category up to 48 kg (class J2) became the champion of the Paralympic Games.

Erkyn Gabbasov - won a silver medal in air rifle shooting at a distance of 10 meters.

Ergali Shamey - in para judo in the category up to 73 kg, won a silver medal in class J1.

Nurdaulet Zhumagali - won silver in para swimming at a distance of 100 meters breaststroke (category SB13).

Dastan Mukashbekov - won a bronze medal in shot put in para athletics.

Zhurkamyrza Shukurbekov - won a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games in para judo in the J2 class in the +90 kg weight category.

Dayana Fedosova - won a bronze medal in para judo in the weight category up to 57 kg J2.

Zarina Raifova - won a bronze medal in para judo in the weight category up to 70 kg in class J2.

Medals at the Winter Paralympics

At the Winter Paralympic Games in Lillehammer in 1994, Kazakhstan's Lyubov Vorobyova won silver in cross-country skiing. This was the first medal in the history of Kazakhstan at the Winter Paralympic Games.

In 2018, at the Pyeongchang Games, Alexander Kolyadin brought the first Winter Paralympic gold in the history of Kazakhstan in para skiing. He finished first in the 1.5 kilometer sprint.

In 2022 in Beijing, Alexander Gerlitz won bronze in the para biathlon at a distance of 10 kilometers (LW6).

games Gold Silver bronze total Place
1994 Lillehammer 0 1 0 1 20
2018 Pyeongchang 1 0 0 1 20
2022 Beijing 0 0 1 1 17
Total 1 1 1 1 -