Wheelchair racing at the Olympic Games | |
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Overview | |
Sport | Athletics (demonstration) |
Gender | Men and women |
Years held | 1984 – 2004 |
Olympic record | |
Men | 3:06.75 min Saúl Mendoza (2000) |
Women | 1:53.66 min Chantal Petitclerc (2004) |
Wheelchair racing at the Summer Olympics featured as demonstration competitions at the multi-sport event, appearing within the Olympic athletics programme from 1984 to 2004.[1] On each occasion two track races were held: a men's 1500 metres race and a women's 800 metres race.[2] This was the first time events for disabled athletes have featured at the Summer Olympic Games,[3] with the Paralympic Games being the traditional venue for top level para-athletics. The wheelchair races were the second Olympic exhibition event for disabled athletes, following on from the disabled skiing at the 1984 Winter Olympics, held earlier that year.[4]
Unofficial medals were awarded to the competitors by Juan Antonio Samaranch, the International Olympic Committee president.[5][6] The events were dropped prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and multiple Paralympic gold medallist Chantal Petitclerc stated the decision was a major set-back for the sport, as she favoured its official integration as an Olympic sport.[7]
At the inaugural event in 1984 Sharon Hedrick broke the IPC world record to win the women's 800 m in a time of 2:15.73 minutes.[6] This was followed by two record performances in 1992, when Claude Issorat of France set a men's 1500 m record of 3:13.92 minutes and Denmark's Connie Hansen won the 800 m in a record 1:55.62 minutes.[8] The Olympic records for the event were set by Saúl Mendoza, who finished in 3:06.75 minutes to win the 2000 men's 1500 m race,[9] and Chantal Petitclerc, who won the last women's 800 m event in 1:53.66 minutes in 2004.[10] Issorat, Hedrick and Louise Sauvage each won two Olympic wheelchair races; Issorat and Sauvage had three Olympic podium finishes. The United States had the most success in the event, gathering eleven medals over the six editions.
Medalists
[edit]Men
[edit]Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
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1984 Los Angeles |
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1988 Seoul |
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1992 Barcelona |
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1996 Atlanta |
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2000 Sydney |
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2004 Athens |
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Multiple medalists
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
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1 | Claude Issorat | ![]() |
1992–2000 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
2= | Paul van Winkel | ![]() |
1984–1988 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
2= | Saúl Mendoza | ![]() |
2000–2004 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
4 | Franz Nietlispach | ![]() |
1992–1996 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Medalists by country
[edit]Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
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1 | ![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
2= | ![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
2= | ![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
4 | ![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
5 | ![]() |
0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
6 | ![]() |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
7= | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
7= | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Women
[edit]Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
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1984 Los Angeles |
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1988 Seoul |
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1992 Barcelona |
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1996 Atlanta |
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2000 Sydney |
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2004 Athens |
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Multiple medalists
[edit]Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
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1 | Louise Sauvage | ![]() |
1996–2004 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
2 | Sharon Hedrick | ![]() |
1984–1988 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
3 | Connie Hansen | ![]() |
1988–1992 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
4 | Jean Driscoll | ![]() |
1992–1996 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
5 | Monica Wetterström | ![]() |
1984–1992 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
6 | Candace Cable | ![]() |
1984–1988 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Medalists by country
[edit]Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
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1 | ![]() |
2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
2 | ![]() |
2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
3 | ![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
4 | ![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
5 | ![]() |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
6 | ![]() |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
7 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
References
[edit]- Participation and results data
- Athletics Women's 800 metres Wheelchair Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-22.
- Athletics Men's 1,500 metres Wheelchair Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
- Specific
- ^ Wheelchair Athletics. OSAV. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
- ^ Disabled Sport: Born of the War. Chantal Petitclerc. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
- ^ A History and Background of Disability Sport. Texas Woman's University. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
- ^ Honours List for the XIVth Olympic Winter Games (PDF) (PDF). Olympic Review. 1984. p. 143. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
- ^ Sanders, Barry A. (2013-10-14). The Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. Pg. 113. Arcadia Publishing.
- ^ a b Wheelchair Mark Broken LOS ANGELES, Aug. 11 (AP) - Sharon Hedrick of the United. The New York Times (1984-08-12). Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
- ^ Wheelchair racing dropped from Beijing Games. CBC Sports. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
- ^ OLYMPICS / Barcelona 1992: Olympic Round-Up: Wheelchair events . The Independent (1992-08-03). Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
- ^ Hot Wheels. Sports Illustrated (2000-09-28). Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
- ^ Petitclerc, Huot earn Paralympic gold. Canadian Press (2004-09-21). Retrieved on 2014-05-12.