Wheelchair racing at the Olympics

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Wheelchair racing
at the Olympic Games
Overview
SportAthletics (demonstration)
GenderMen and women
Years held19842004
Olympic record
Men3:06.75 min Saúl Mendoza (2000)
Women1:53.66 min Chantal Petitclerc (2004)

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

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

Men

Games Gold Silver Bronze
details
 Paul van Winkel (BEL)  Randy Snow (USA)  André Viger (CAN)
details
 Mustapha Badid (FRA)  Paul van Winkel (BEL)  Craig Blanchette (USA)
details
 Claude Issorat (FRA)  Franz Nietlispach (SUI)  Michael Noe (USA)
details
 Claude Issorat (FRA)  Scot Hollonbeck (USA)  Franz Nietlispach (SUI)
details
 Saúl Mendoza (MEX)  Claude Issorat (FRA)  Heinz Frei (SUI)
details
 Robert Figl (GER)  Saúl Mendoza (MEX)  Rawat Tana (THA)

Multiple medalists

Rank Athlete Nation Olympics Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Claude Issorat  France (FRA) 1992–2000 2 1 0 3
2= Paul van Winkel  Belgium (BEL) 1984–1988 1 1 0 2
2= Saúl Mendoza  Mexico (MEX) 2000–2004 1 1 0 2
4 Franz Nietlispach  Switzerland (SUI) 1992–1996 0 1 1 2

Medalists by country

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  France (FRA) 3 1 0 4
2=  Belgium (BEL) 1 1 0 2
2=  Mexico (MEX) 1 1 0 2
4  Germany (GER) 1 0 0 1
5  United States (USA) 0 2 2 4
6  Switzerland (SUI) 0 1 2 3
7=  Canada (CAN) 0 0 1 1
7=  Thailand (THA) 0 0 1 1

Women

Games Gold Silver Bronze
details
 Sharon Hedrick (USA)  Monica Wetterström (SWE)  Candace Cable (USA)
details
 Sharon Hedrick (USA)  Connie Hansen (DEN)  Candace Cable (USA)
details
 Connie Hansen (DEN)  Jean Driscoll (USA)  Monica Wetterström (SWE)
details
 Louise Sauvage (AUS)  Jean Driscoll (USA)  
Cheri Becerra (USA
)
details
 Louise Sauvage (AUS)  Wakako Tsuchida (JPN)  Ariadne Hernández (MEX)
details
 Chantal Petitclerc (CAN)  
Eliza Stankovich (AUS
)
 Louise Sauvage (AUS)

Multiple medalists

Rank Athlete Nation Olympics Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Louise Sauvage  Australia (AUS) 1996–2004 2 0 1 3
2 Sharon Hedrick  United States (USA) 1984–1988 2 0 0 2
3 Connie Hansen  Denmark (DEN) 1988–1992 1 1 0 2
4 Jean Driscoll  United States (USA) 1992–1996 0 2 0 2
5 Monica Wetterström  Sweden (SWE) 1984–1992 0 1 1 2
6 Candace Cable  United States (USA) 1984–1988 0 0 2 2

Medalists by country

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  United States (USA) 2 2 3 7
2  Australia (AUS) 2 1 1 4
3  Denmark (DEN) 1 1 0 2
4  Canada (CAN) 1 0 0 1
5  Sweden (SWE) 0 1 1 2
6  Japan (JPN) 0 1 0 1
7  Mexico (MEX) 0 0 1 1

References

Participation and results data
Specific
  1. ^ Wheelchair Athletics. OSAV. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
  2. ^ Disabled Sport: Born of the War. Chantal Petitclerc. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
  3. ^ A History and Background of Disability Sport. Texas Woman's University. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
  4. ^ Honours List for the XIVth Olympic Winter Games (PDF) (PDF). Olympic Review. 1984. p. 143. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
  5. ^ Sanders, Barry A. (2013-10-14). The Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. Pg. 113. Arcadia Publishing.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Wheelchair racing dropped from Beijing Games. CBC Sports. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
  8. ^ OLYMPICS / Barcelona 1992: Olympic Round-Up: Wheelchair events . The Independent (1992-08-03). Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
  9. ^ Hot Wheels. Sports Illustrated (2000-09-28). Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
  10. ^ Petitclerc, Huot earn Paralympic gold. Canadian Press (2004-09-21). Retrieved on 2014-05-12.

External links