Sports

Table Tennis (Galatsi Olympic Hall (GAL))

Every game consists of five sets. The first athlete or team that scores 11 points wins the set. Participants are athletes with cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries amputation or other locomotor disability. The athletes compete in a wheelchair or standing and are classified in 10 classes based on their functional ability. Table Tennis competition programme at the Paralympic Games in Athens will be completed within nine days, from 18 to 27 September 2004, with a one test day on 22 September.

Swimming (Olympic Aquatic Centre (AQU))

Swimming began as a rehabilitation and leisure activity, but soon developed into one of the most popular and highly competitive sports for athletes with a disability. In Swimming competitions participants are men and women with: a physical disability or vision impairment. Athletes with vision impairment, depending on the degree of vision loss, are classified into categories. For swimmers with a physical disability, classification is relatively more complex. During the Athens Paralympic Games the Swimming events will be held from 19 to 27 September 2004. The Paralympic Games programme includes five individual events and two relays for every men's and women's category.

Wheelchair Fencing (Indoor Arena (HEL) & Fencing Hall (HEF)

Wheelchair Fencing is a sport that calls for adaptability, inventiveness, good organisation, and patience. In order to master it, the fencer spends long hours practicing.
The athletes in Wheelchair Fencing are those with locomotor disabilities. They compete on wheelchairs. During a bout the wheelchairs are fixed to the ground. This nevertheless allows the fencer the freedom to execute rapidly alternating movements.
There are fifteen fencing events in the Paralympic Games. Wheelchair Fencing at the Paralympic Games in Athens will be held from 18 to 23 September 2004.

Shooting (Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre (SHO))

It is one of the most popular sports worldwide. It is open to men and women of all ages on both the recreational and championship levels.Shooting events differ as to the distance, the type of target and gun, the shooting position, the number of shots and the time within which the shots have to be fired.Shooting at the Athens Paralympic Games will take place from 18 to 23 September 2004 (six competition days). The Shooting competition programme includes rifle and pistol events from shooting distances of 10, 25 and 50 metres.


Marathon (Panathinaiko Stadium (PAN))


The Marathon route at the 2004 Paralympic Games will be identical to the original one run by Phidippides during the ancient years and by Spyros Louis at the 1896 Olympic Games.
Its starting point will be in Marathon, called the Marathon start and the finishing line at the Panathinaiko Stadium - the famous Marble Stadium known as "Kallimarmaro" where the Olympic Games were revived in 1896. (26 September)

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