- While opportunities to participate in sport for people with physical disabilies has existed for over 100 years, the first organized international competitions didn’t occur until after WW2, with the first Paralympics happening in 1960 - Physical disabilies include everything from missing limbs, spinal cord dysfunction, and visual and hearing impairments -Disabilities of athletes can be congenital (the person was born with them) or acquired (they became physically disabled at some point). 3/