Wheelchair racing at the Olympics

Wheelchair racing
at the Olympic Games

Overview
Sport| Athletics (demonstration)
Gender| Men and women
Years held| 1984 – 2004
Olympic record
Men| 3:06.75 min Saúl Mendoza (2000)
Women| 1:53.66 min Chantal Petitclerc (2004)

Wheelchair racing at the Summer Olympics featured as demonstration competitions at the multi-sport event, appearing within the Olympic athletics programme from 1984 to 2004.[1] On each occasion two track races were held: a men's 1500 metres race and a women's 800 metres race.[2] This was the first time events for disabled athletes have featured at the Summer Olympic Games,[3] with the Paralympic Games being the traditional venue for top level para-athletics. The wheelchair races were the second Olympic exhibition event for disabled athletes, following on from the disabled skiing at the 1984 Winter Olympics, held earlier that year.[4]

Unofficial medals were awarded to the competitors by Juan Antonio Samaranch, the International Olympic Committee president.[5][6] The events were dropped prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and multiple Paralympic gold medallist Chantal Petitclerc stated the decision was a major set-back for the sport, as she favoured its official integration as an Olympic sport.[7]

At the inaugural event in 1984 Sharon Hedrick broke the IPC world record to win the women's 800 m in a time of 2:15.73 minutes.[6] This was followed by two record performances in 1992, when Claude Issorat of France set a men's 1500 m record of 3:13.92 minutes and Denmark's Connie Hansen won the 800 m in a record 1:55.62 minutes.[8] The Olympic records for the event were set by Saúl Mendoza, who finished in 3:06.75 minutes to win the 2000 men's 1500 m race,[9] and Chantal Petitclerc, who won the last women's 800 m event in 1:53.66 minutes in 2004.[10] Issorat, Hedrick and Louise Sauvage each won two Olympic wheelchair races; Issorat and Sauvage had three Olympic podium finishes. The United States had the most success in the event, gathering eleven medals over the six editions.

## Medalists[edit]

### Men[edit]

Games  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

1984 Los Angeles
details |  Paul van Winkel (BEL) |  Randy Snow (USA) |  André Viger (CAN)
1988 Seoul
details |  Mustapha Badid (FRA) |  Paul van Winkel (BEL) |  Craig Blanchette (USA)
1992 Barcelona
details |  Claude Issorat (FRA) |  Franz Nietlispach (SUI) |  Michael Noe (USA)
1996 Atlanta
details |  Claude Issorat (FRA) |  Scot Hollonbeck (USA) |  Franz Nietlispach (SUI)
2000 Sydney
details |  Saúl Mendoza (MEX) |  Claude Issorat (FRA) |  Heinz Frei (SUI)
2004 Athens
details |  Robert Figl (GER) |  Saúl Mendoza (MEX) |  Rawat Tana (THA)

#### Multiple medalists[edit]

Rank  | Athlete  | Nation  | Olympics  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1 | Claude Issorat |  France (FRA) | 1992–2000 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3
2= | Paul van Winkel |  Belgium (BEL) | 1984–1988 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2
2= | Saúl Mendoza |  Mexico (MEX) | 2000–2004 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2
4 | Franz Nietlispach |  Switzerland (SUI) | 1992–1996 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2

#### Medalists by country[edit]

Rank  | Nation  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total

|
|
|
|
|

1 |  France (FRA) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4
2= |  Belgium (BEL) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2
2= |  Mexico (MEX) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2
4 |  Germany (GER) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1
5 |  United States (USA) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4
6 |  Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3
7= |  Canada (CAN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
7= |  Thailand (THA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1

### Women[edit]

Games  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

1984 Los Angeles
details |  Sharon Hedrick (USA) |  Monica Wetterström (SWE) |  Candace Cable (USA)
1988 Seoul
details |  Sharon Hedrick (USA) |  Connie Hansen (DEN) |  Candace Cable (USA)
1992 Barcelona
details |  Connie Hansen (DEN) |  Jean Driscoll (USA) |  Monica Wetterström (SWE)
1996 Atlanta
details |  Louise Sauvage (AUS) |  Jean Driscoll (USA) |  Cheri Becerra (USA)
2000 Sydney
details |  Louise Sauvage (AUS) |  Wakako Tsuchida (JPN) |  Ariadne Hernández (MEX)
2004 Athens
details |  Chantal Petitclerc (CAN) |  Eliza Stankovich (AUS) |  Louise Sauvage (AUS)

#### Multiple medalists[edit]

Rank  | Athlete  | Nation  | Olympics  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1 | Louise Sauvage |  Australia (AUS) | 1996–2004 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3
2 | Sharon Hedrick |  United States (USA) | 1984–1988 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2
3 | Connie Hansen |  Denmark (DEN) | 1988–1992 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2
4 | Jean Driscoll |  United States (USA) | 1992–1996 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2
5 | Monica Wetterström |  Sweden (SWE) | 1984–1992 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2
6 | Candace Cable |  United States (USA) | 1984–1988 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2

#### Medalists by country[edit]

Rank  | Nation  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze  | Total

|
|
|
|
|

1 |  United States (USA) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7
2 |  Australia (AUS) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4
3 |  Denmark (DEN) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2
4 |  Canada (CAN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1
5 |  Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2
6 |  Japan (JPN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1
7 |  Mexico (MEX) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1

## References[edit]

Participation and results data

* Athletics Women's 800 metres Wheelchair Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-22.
* Athletics Men's 1,500 metres Wheelchair Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.

Specific

1. ^ Wheelchair Athletics. OSAV. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
2. ^ Disabled Sport: Born of the War. Chantal Petitclerc. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
3. ^ A History and Background of Disability Sport. Texas Woman's University. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
4. ^ Honours List for the XIVth Olympic Winter Games (PDF) (PDF). Olympic Review. 1984. p. 143. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
5. ^ Sanders, Barry A. (2013-10-14). The Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. Pg. 113. Arcadia Publishing.
6. ^ a b Wheelchair Mark Broken LOS ANGELES, Aug. 11 (AP) - Sharon Hedrick of the United. The New York Times (1984-08-12). Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
7. ^ Wheelchair racing dropped from Beijing Games. CBC Sports. Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
8. ^ OLYMPICS / Barcelona 1992: Olympic Round-Up: Wheelchair events . The Independent (1992-08-03). Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
9. ^ Hot Wheels. Sports Illustrated (2000-09-28). Retrieved on 2014-05-12.
10. ^ Petitclerc, Huot earn Paralympic gold. Canadian Press (2004-09-21). Retrieved on 2014-05-12.

## External links[edit]

* Official Olympics website

* v
* t
* e

Wheelchair racing at the Summer Olympics

Summary

* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004

* v
* t
* e

Athletics at the Summer Olympics

Editions|

* 1896
* 1900
* 1904
* 1906 (Intercalated)
* 1908
* 1912
* 1920
* 1924
* 1928
* 1932
* 1936
* 1948
* 1952
* 1956
* 1960
* 1964
* 1968
* 1972
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

Events|

| Track|

* 100 m
* 200 m
* 400 m
* 800 m
* 1500 m
* 5000 m
* 10,000 m
* 4 × 100 m relay
* 4 × 400 m relay
* Sprint hurdles
* 400 m hurdles
* Steeplechase

|

Field|

* Shot put
* Discus throw
* Hammer throw
* Javelin throw
* Pole vault
* High jump
* Long jump
* Triple jump

Others|

* Combined events
* Marathon
* Race walking

Defunct|

* Cross country
* Team races
* 60 metres
* Weight throw
* Wheelchair racing
* Professional events

* List of medalists
* men
* women
* Records
* Venues
* Medal sweeps

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