Four strokes are used in Paralympic competition: Freestyle (essentially
front crawl), Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly. All four strokes
feature in the Medley Relay and 200m Individual Medley events; in
addition, all of them except Butterfly feature in the 150m Individual
Medley events for certain classifications. Races take place in a 50m
pool, and may be started in a number of ways: from a standing start;
using a dive start from a sitting position on the starting platform;
and from within the water.



Swimmers are classified according to how their impairment affects their
ability to perform each stroke. Classification numbers 1-10 cover
athletes with physical impairments, with class 1 swimmers' impairment
having the greatest impact on their ability to perform strokes, through
to class 10 swimmers' impairment having the least impact. Athletes with
a visual impairment compete in classes 11-13, with class 11 having
little or no sight, through to class 13 having limited sight. Athletes
with an intellectual impairment compete in class 14.



Breaststroke uses greater leg propulsion than any other stroke,
therefore athletes with a physical impairment often have a different
class for this event compared to Freestyle, Backstroke and Butterfly.
This is also taken into account when athletes compete in the Individual
Medley. This is shown by the prefix:



S before the class represents Freestyle, Backstroke and Butterfly
events.

SB before the class represents Breaststroke events.

SM before the class represents Individual Medley events.


The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for nine sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The IPC is committed to enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to develop sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

For further information, please visit http://www.paralympic.org.

To watch live action and videos on demand of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, and subscribe to ParalympicSport.TV, please go to www.youtube.com/ParalympicSportTV.

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