Explaining impairment classification at the Paralympic Games | CBC Sports

Canada won two medals on Day 1 of the Paris Paralympics on Thursday.

Track cyclist Kate O’Brien competed in the women’s C4-5 500-metre time trial final, winning bronze. Swimmer Aurélie Rivard won her third consecutive medal in the women’s S10 50 freestyle Thursday afternoon, capturing bronze.

That’s mostly straightforward, but what are those letter/number modifiers that precede the event name?

The simple answer is that they indicate classification. There are 10 impairments that make athletes eligible to compete in the Paralympics — eight are physical, one is visual and one is intellectual.

Eligible impairments

• Impaired muscle power
• Impaired passive range of movement
• Limb deficiency
• Leg length difference
• Short stature
• Hypertonia (increased muscle tension)
• Ataxia (unco-ordinated movement due to damaged central nervous system)
• Athetosis (continual slow involuntary movements)
• Impaired vision
• Intellectual impairment

In sports such as swimming and athletics, there are categories available for all 10 forms of impairments. But in others such as goalball, only the visually impaired compete. Things are made even easier in the latter as all athletes are blindfolded, though they are still categorized based on their level of vision.

Swimmers are organized into different categories depending on the severity of their disability. The S10 category in which the decorated Rivard swims is for those with minimal physical impairments. The 28-year-old Canadian, for example, was born with an underdeveloped left hand. 

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The C4 classification could include athletes with a below-knee amputation and a prosthesis on one leg.

In general, a higher number denotes a less severe disability. The S1 category in swimming mostly includes athletes who use a wheelchair and/or have significant loss of muscle control in their arms, legs and hands. Likewise, cycling’s C1 is reserved for those with the most severe physical limitations.

Each sport also has its own minimum impairment criteria, where international federations determine on a case-by-case basis if athletes are eligible to compete. It’s up to those evaluators to classify eligible athletes, too.

As different sports require different skills, eligibility and classification can vary for those with similar impairments.

Rivard’s 50m freestyle race, for instance, will also be contested in S4, S6, S8, S11 and S13. Nos. 11-13 represent visual impairment, with 14 standing as the intellectual impairment category.

O’Brien’s 500m time trial was also contested in C1-3, for athletes with more severe impairments.

Classification can also be broken down by discipline: S indicates freestyle, butterfly and backstroke; SB is breaststroke; and SM represents individual medley. Other sports follow similar methods as well.

In team sports, classification works somewhat differently. Wheelchair rugby players are categorized by points — from 0.5 (most impaired) to 3.5 (least impaired) — and teams can only field a maximum of eight total points on the court at once. Wheelchair basketball classifies players from 1 to 4.5, with a 14-point maximum on the court.

Sitting volleyball has just two categories — SV1 (most impaired) and SV2 (least impaired). Teams are only permitted two SV2s on their roster, and only one can play at a time.

For a visual representation of how classification works, here’s a useful guide.