The 1960 Rome Games were the first international Paralympic Games, establishing competitive sport for athletes with disabilities on a global stage.
Key Facts
- Dates
- September 18–25, 1960
- Number of athletes
- 400 athletes
- Countries represented
- 23 countries
- Disability category
- Spinal cord injury only
- Term 'Paralympic' approved by IOC
- 1984
- Organizing body
- International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Building on the Stoke Mandeville Games held in 1948 and 1952 in England, which were organized to promote sport for wheelchair users with spinal cord injuries, the movement gained momentum toward an international competition held alongside the Olympic Games.
The 9th Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games took place in Rome, Italy, from September 18 to 25, 1960, concurrent with the Summer Olympics. Four hundred athletes from 23 countries competed, all with spinal cord injuries, making it the first Paralympic Games held on an international scale.
The Rome Games established the precedent for the Paralympic Games as an international event linked to the Olympics. The term 'Paralympic Games' was later formally approved by the IOC in 1984, and the International Paralympic Committee was founded in 1989, institutionalizing the movement worldwide.