Belgium at the 1972 Summer Paralympics

Belgium at the Paralympic Games
Flag of Belgium IPC code  BEL NPC Belgian Paralympic Committee
At the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg
Competitors	23
Medals	Gold 0	Silver 0	Bronze 0	Total 0
Paralympic history (summary)
Summer Games
1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012
Winter Games
1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014

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

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