In 1939, Dr Ludwig Guttman, then a 40-year-old neurologist and neurosurgeon, escaped from Germany and found his way to the United Kingdom. There he continued his work and studies in Oxford to advance medical approaches for those suffering crippling disorders such as spinal cord injuries. He saw his primary task not only as enabling the paraplegics’ physical rehabilitation but also as instilling in them the confidence to live a full life with their permanent disability.
In 1943 he was appointed to head the Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Before his arrival, the so-called “hopeless cases” were confined to hospital beds. Dr Guttman tested various approaches to get his patients with disabilities out of bed. When he noticed a few patients in wheelchairs trying to get into a self-conceived ball game, he immediately understood the significance of sport in the patients’ and the public’s perception of their disabilities. It became Dr Guttman’s aim for the patients to leave the hospital as confident members of the community. He saw physical activity as the means to achieve this.
On 28 July 1948, the opening day of the London Olympics, Dr Guttman arranged an archery contest for 16 athletes with disabilities at the hospital. The Stoke Mandeville Games became famous. In 1960, the Games were staged together with the Olympics in Rome, becoming the first Paralympic Games. In 1966, Dr Guttmann was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
This year, the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games showcased more than 4000 athletes with disabilities from around the world (close to half of them women) competing in 22 individual and team sports, including para-archery, para-cycling, para-powerlifting, para-canoeing, para–table tennis, para-athletics, and para-swimming.
One thing that stands out to me about the Paralympics is that there will be no losers. While there will be plenty of gold, silver, and bronze medalists, all the athletes will be winners by the mere fact of competing.
—George Szasz, CM MD
Suggested reading
Jewish Museum Berlin. Ludwig Guttmann, father of the Special Olympics. Accessed 6 September 2024. www.jmberlin.de/en/node/9645.
Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Accessed 6 September 2024. www.paralympic.org/paris-2024.
This post has not been peer reviewed by the BCMJ Editorial Board.
 |
| This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. |