Belgium at the 1972 Summer Paralympics

Sporting event delegation

Belgium at the 1972 Summer Paralympics

IPC code	BEL
NPC	Belgian Paralympic Committee
Website	www.paralympic.be
in Heidelberg
Competitors	23
Medals	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Total 0
Summer Paralympics appearances (overview)
1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

Belgium sent a delegation to compete at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg, West Germany. They sent twenty three competitors, eighteen male and five female.^[1]

Disability classifications

Athletes at the Paralympics in 1972 were all afflicted by spinal cord injuries and required the use of a wheelchair.^[2] This is in contrast to later Paralympics that include events for participants that fit into any of five different disability categories; amputation, either congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes; visual impairment, including blindness; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis.^[3]^[4] Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing.^[5]

References

^ "Participants Heidelberg 1972 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. 1972. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
^ "Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
^ "Paralympics categories explained". ABC. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
^ "Making sense of the categories". BBC Sport. 6 October 2000. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
^ "A-Z of Paralympic classification". BBC Sport. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2011.