1984 Summer Paralympics — seventh Paralympic Games, held in New York City in 1984
The 1984 Summer Paralympics were the last Games not co-hosted with the Olympic city, split across two countries due to organizational and political circumstances.
Key Facts
- Paralympic edition
- 7th Summer Paralympic Games
- Venues
- Mitchel Athletic Complex & Hofstra University, NY; Stoke Mandeville, UK
- Soviet participation
- USSR withdrew weeks before opening ceremony
- USSR Paralympic debut
- 1988 Seoul
- Last split-host Games
- Final Summer Paralympics not co-hosted with Olympic city
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1984 Games required two separate venues because wheelchair athletes with spinal cord injuries were hosted at Stoke Mandeville, the historic home of Paralympic precursor events since 1948, while other disability groups competed in New York. The Soviet Union, mirroring its Olympic boycott in Los Angeles, also withdrew its athletes, citing safety concerns.
The seventh Summer Paralympic Games were held simultaneously at Stoke Mandeville, England and at the Mitchel Athletic Complex and Hofstra University on Long Island, New York. Athletes with spinal cord injuries competed in England, while those with cerebral palsy, amputations, visual impairments, and other conditions competed in the United States. Several communist nations did not participate.
The split-venue arrangement highlighted the need for unified Paralympic organization. From 1988 onward, the Paralympic Games have been held in the same host city as the Olympics, beginning with Seoul. The Soviet Union made its Paralympic debut at those 1988 Games, ending its long absence from the movement.