Ireland at the 1972 Summer Paralympics

Ireland at the Paralympic Games
Flag of Ireland IPC code  IRL NPC Paralympics Ireland
At the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg
Competitors	17
Medals Rank: 21	Gold 2	Silver 4	Bronze 2	Total 8
Paralympic history (summary)
Summer Games
1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012

Ireland sent a delegation to compete at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg, West Germany. They sent seventeen competitors, eight male and nine 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. 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.