From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

X Paralympic Games
Host city	Atlanta, United States
Motto	The Triumph of the Human Spirit
Nations participating	104[1]
Athletes participating	3259 (2469 men, 790 women)[1]
Events	508 in 20 sports
Opening ceremony	August 16
Closing ceremony	August 25
Officially opened by	Vice President Al Gore
Stadium	Centennial Olympic Stadium

The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, USA were the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship. They were held from 16 August to 25 August.^[1]

Symbol and mascot of the games

1996 Paralympic Mascot Blaze the Phoenix

The mascot for the Paralympic Summer Games in Atlanta 1996 was Blaze.

Blaze is a phoenix, a mythical bird that rises from ashes to experience a renewed life. The phoenix appears in Egyptian, Arabian, Chinese, Russian and native American lore and in all instances symbolizes strength, vision, inspiration and survival. The phoenix was an ideal mascot for the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games and later for BlazeSports America, a nonprofit organization that is the direct legacy of the Games. The phoenix has long been the symbol of Atlanta’s rebirth after its devastation in the Civil War. But most importantly, it is the personification of the will, perseverance and determination of youth and adults with physical disability to achieve full and productive lives. Blaze, with his bright colors, height and broad wing span, reflects the traits, identified in a focus group of athletes with disability, as those they believed best represented the drive to succeed of persons with physical disability who pursue sports as recreation and as a competitive endeavor. Today, Blaze is the most recognizable symbol of disability sport in America.

Sports

The games consisted of 508 events spread over twenty sports, including three demonstration sports.^[1]

• Archery
• Athletics
• Boccia
• Cycling
• Equestrian
• Football 7-a-side
• Goalball
• Judo
• Lawn bowls
• Powerlifting
• Sailing (demonstration sport)
• Shooting
• Swimming
• Table tennis
• Volleyball
• Wheelchair basketball
• Wheelchair fencing
• Wheelchair rugby (demonstration sport, but medals awarded)
• Wheelchair tennis

Medal count

A total of 1577 medals were awarded during the Atlanta games: 518 gold, 517 silver, and 542 bronze. The host country, the United States, topped the medal count with more gold medals, more bronze medals, and more medals overall than any other nation. Germany took the most silver medals, with 58.^[2]

In the table below, the ranking sorts by the number of gold medals earned by the top 20 nations (in this context a nation is an entity represented by a National Paralympic Committee). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals.

      Host country (United States)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States (USA)	46	47	66	159
2	Australia (AUS)	42	37	27	106
3	Germany (GER)	40	58	51	149
4	Great Britain (GBR)	40	42	41	123
5	Spain (ESP)	39	31	36	106
6	France (FRA)	35	29	31	95
7	Canada (CAN)	24	23	24	71
8	Netherlands (NED)	17	11	17	45
9	China (CHN)	16	13	10	39
10	Japan (JPN)	14	10	13	37
11	Poland (POL)	13	14	8	35
12	South Korea (KOR)	13	2	15	30
13	Sweden (SWE)	12	14	11	37
14	Italy (ITA)	11	20	14	45
15	South Africa (RSA)	10	8	10	28
16	Russia (RUS)	9	7	11	27
17	Norway (NOR)	9	7	4	20
18	Switzerland (SUI)	9	6	6	21
19	New Zealand (NZL)	9	6	4	19
20	Iran (IRI)	9	5	3	17
Total		518	517	542	1577

Participating delegations

One-hundred and four delegations participated in the Atlanta Paralympics.

See also

• 1996 Summer Olympics
• BlazeSports America, the legacy organization of the 1996 Paralympic Games

External links

• International Paralympic Committee
• Interview with Paralypian Judy Siegle

References