Athletics at the Paralympics: Dates, events, venues, prize money, history and Team GB prospects

Athletics at the Paralympics is officially known as Para-Athletics and a host of track and field events will be contested by competitors with a wide range of disabilities in Paris.

Para-Athletics Dates

When does the Para-Athletics take place at the Paralympics in 2024?

The Para-Athletics will take place between Friday 30th August and Sunday 8th September 2024.

Paralympics Athletics events

What are the Para-Athletics track events?

Men and women will compete in the following track events:

• 100 metres

• 200 metres

• 400 metres

• 800 metres

• 1500 metres

• 5000 metres

• 4x100 metres universal relay

• Marathon

It is worth noting that not all events will be contested in all disability categories

What are the Para-Athletics field events?

Men and women will compete in the following field events:

• Discus

• Shot put

• Long jump

• Javelin

• Club throw

• High jump

Again, it should be noted that not all events will be contested in all disability categories

Paralympic Athletics classifications

What are the Para-Athletics classifications

In order to provide as close to a level playing field as possible, events are split up into different classifications to cater for athletes' various disabilities.

Those are numbered and preceded either with a T for track or a F for field events.

These are the classifications:

• T/F11–13 (visual impairment)

• T/F20 (intellectual impairment)

• T/F31–34 (wheelchair events for athletes with a movement disorder, including cerebral palsy)

• T/F35–38 (ambulant events for athletes with a movement disorder, including cerebral palsy)

• T/F40–41 (short stature, including dwarfism)

• T/F42–44 (leg impairment, lower limb affected by limb deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power or impaired range of movement)

• T/F45–47 (arm impairment, upper limbs affected by limb deficiency, impaired muscle power or impaired range of movement)

• T/F51–57 (wheelchair events for athletes with a lower body impairment, including paraplegia)

• T/F61-64 (Lower limb/s competing with prosthesis affected by limb deficiency and leg length difference)

Para-Athletics venues

Where will the Para-Athletics take place at Paris 2024?

The Para-Athletics competitions will be held at the Stade de France, apart from the marathon, which will begin in Parc Georges Valbon in Seine-Saint-Denis, head out onto the streets of Paris before finishing at the Esplanade des Invalides.

Para-Athletics History

When was Para-Athletics introduced to the Paralympics?

Para-Athletics has been one of the cornerstones of the Paralympics, which started life after the Second World War as the Stoke Mandeville Games, and was included in the first Games, which took place in Rome in 1960.

Wheelchair races were organised on that occasion and that was also the case in Tokyo in 1964 and Tel Aviv, which stepped in to host the Games in 1968 when Mexico City was unable to do so.

Amputee and visually impaired athletes competed for the first time in Heidelberg in 1972 with competitors with cerebral palsy taking part for the first time in 1984.

All disability types were then made eligible for competition in Barcelona in 1992.

What prize money can be won in Para-Athletics at the Paralympics?

No official prize money is awarded, although some countries have their own deals for their athletes.

No Team GB Paralympic medal winner will receive any prize money.

Para-Athletics British hopes

Who are Team GB’s best medal hopes in Para-Athletics at Paris 2024?

Sophie Hahn will be defending her 100m title in the T38 category and will have high hopes despite taking bronze in the 100m and 200m in last year’s world championships, as she recorded the fastest time of the year, 12.55 seconds, at the London Diamond League meeting.

Jonnie Peacock will also be hoping to sprint his way to glory having taken T44 100m gold in London and Rio before third spot in Tokyo.

Hollie Arnold has just won her sixth straight F46 javelin title and will be looking to add to her medal collection that includes a gold in Rio and a bronze in Tokyo since she made her Paralympic debut in Beijing in 2008.

Wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft will also be searching for more glory having already won seven gold medals over 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m in the T34 category.

Who were the recent Team GB Para-athletes to win Paralympic gold medals?

Great Britain won nine gold medals in Para-Athletics at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, with Hannah Cockroft finishing on top of the podium twice in the 100 metres and 800 metres in the T34 category.

The other gold medalists were:

• Thomas Young (T38) Men’s 100m

• Sophie Hahn (T38) Women’s 100m

• Andrew Small (T33) Men’s 100m

• Daniel Pembroke (F13) Men’s javelin

• Owen Miller (T20) Men’s 1500m

• Jonathan Broom-Edwards (F64) Men’s high jump

• Aled Davies (F63) Men’s shot put

How many medals have Team GB captured in athletics at the Paralympics?

Since 1960, Great Britain have won 205 gold medals in Para-Athletics, 163 silvers and 186 bronzes and only the USA have claimed more.

Who are the favourites for golds in Para-Athletics at the 2024 Paralympics?

Indian javelin sensation Sumit Antil competes in the F64 category and holds the world record at 73.29m, so the defending champion and winner of the last two world championships should take some beating.

USA high jumper Ezra Frech won the world championships in the F63 category in 2023 and took silver this year and will be looking to beat the world record, while Cuban blind runner Omara Durand looks unstoppable in the women’s sprints after completing the 100m, 200m and 400m treble at both Rio and Tokyo.