Paralympic Swimming has been part of the Paralympic games, since its beginning in the 1960 Rome games.  Now, athletes, with either a physical disability or blindness/visual impairment, from over 80 different countries compete in the sport.  The same strokes as Olympic swimming are swum, the Freestyle, Backstroke, Butterfly, Breaststroke and Medley events.  Heats are swum with eight swimmers and each race with the top eight finishers of the heats swimming in the final race.

A few exceptions to the International Swimming Federation (FINA) rules are allowed in Paralympic competition, but most are the same as those of Olympic competition.  Blind swimmers are allowed a “tapper,” someone who taps the end of the swimmer’s lane in order to signal to them that they are nearing the edge of the pool and either need to make a turn or stop.  Blind swimmers are also required to wear blackened goggles in all their events, but no prostheses or assistive devices are allowed in competition.

Events are also often started differently and can be started from in the water, a dive from a sitting position on the platform, or a standard dive from a standing position on the platform.

Paralympic swimming is governed by the IPC and co-ordinated by the IPC Swimming Technical Committee.
 

To view more Paralympic swimming photos please visit our Flickr page.

For more information on Paralympic Swimming please visit US Paralympics.