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Wheelchair racing is a type of racing in which athletes with physical disabilities compete with the help of a wheelchair. The sport evolved out of rehabilitation process used for disabled war veterans. Wheelchair racing is currently a major part of the Summer Paralympics.

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There are several classifications of athletes based on the level of their disabilities. The classifications are based on, spinal cord injury, amputee, or cerebral palsy. Class T51 - T58 is for amputees or athletes with a spinal cord injury. T51 – T54 are for disabled athletes competing in track events, and T55 – T58 are for athletes competing in field events. Athletes with cerebral palsy are classified as T32- T38. Separate races are conducted for athletes in each class.

The wheelchairs used are specially designed for racing purpose and has a lot of specifications around it.

Races are conducted on both tracks and road courses. Similar to running races, wheelchair racing races are also of various distances. Short distance sprint races for 100m, 200m and 400m, middle distance races for 800m and 1500m, and long-distance races for 5K and 10K are all conducted. Track and field wheelchair racing also includes the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relay races. There are also several wheelchair marathon races conducted.

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Similar Sports

• Racerunning — a racing sport for disabled athletes, in which they use a specially designed tricycle.
• Para-Cycling — cycle racing events using adaptations for disabled athletes, such as tandem bikes and hand-cycling.
• Wheelchair Slalom — navigating in a wheelchair through a course with challenging obstacles.
• Wheelchair Rugby League — a version of rugby league football but played using a wheelchair.
• Wheelchair Rugby — a full-contact indoor team sport conducted for players with disabilities
• Wheelchair Basketball — basically regular basketball played on a wheelchair.
• Paratriathlon — involves a 750 m swim, a 20 km bike with handcycles, bicycles or tandems with a guide, and a 5 km wheelchair or running race.

Related Pages

• Sports for the Disabled
• Wheelchair racing at the Paralympic Games
• List of Sports at the Paralympics
• Complete list of world sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports