PARA ATHLETICS FAST FACTS
1. The sport has been included in all editions of the Paralympic Games from Rome 1960 onwards.
2. Para athletics is practiced internationally by athletes in more than 130 countries.
3. The USA has topped the Para athletics medal table at nine Paralympic Games, more than any other country.
4. Since the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, 2,860 gold medals have been awarded in the sport. USA has won the most with 375.
5. Eight-six countries have won Para athletics gold at the Paralympic Games.
6. Since 1960, 109 countries have won at least one medal.
7. The athlete to have won the most athletics medals at a single Paralympics is Italy’s Maria Scutti. At Rome 1960 she won 11 medals, including nine golds.
8. The only athlete to come close to Scutti’s record is the USA’s Bart Dobson who won eight Paralympic titles at Seoul 1988.
9. The oldest athlete to have competed in Para athletics at the Paralympic Games in recent history is Japan’s Toshie Oi. The F53 discus thrower was 68 years and nine days old on the opening days of Rio 2016.
10. With 14 titles apiece, Canada’s Chantal Petitclerc and Switzerland’s Franz Nietlispach have won more Paralympic athletics gold medals than anyone else