A History of the Paralympic Games

It is time for the Paralympics games to take place. The Paralympic Games will take place in Tokyo, Japan August 24 to September 5, 2021. NBC says they are planning to have an astounding 1200 hours of Paralympic footage broadcasted live. This is more footage than in any previous year.

At Next Day Access, we are always excited about the Paralympics. Our customers amaze and inspire us every day, and seeing people with disabilities compete on such a grand scale is exhilarating. To prepare for this year’s game, we want to share the fascinating history of the Paralympics with our readers.  

July 29, 1948, was not only the Opening Ceremony Day of the Olympic games in London, England, but it was also the first day of the Stoke Mandeville Games, which would later be called the Paralympics. The Stoke Mandeville Games were organized to support and motivate servicemen returning from World War 2. Dr. Sir Ludwig Guttman organized the Games as an opportunity for injured servicemen a chance to also show sporting skills by competing against each other, even while injured.