Dear friends, I'm telling the story of the Paralympics because sport gave me a second chance at life—a way to build my own future. Yes, there will be sacrifices. But I know one thing for certain: the FINP will be there with me every step of the way. I know it will be hard, but I don't want to close the doors that opened for me on February 28, 2023, thanks to Enrico Testa.
After winning my first gold medal in the 25-meter backstroke, I'm more determined than ever for the races ahead. They're scheduled for Saturday, June 8 at Tre Fontane, number 29, and Sunday, June 9 at the Federal Center in Pietralata, Via Achille de Zigno, 7, 00157 Rome.
The 2024 Paralympics will run from August 28 through September 8 in Paris. And who knows? If fate allows, one day not too far off, I'll be there too.
Here is their story, as told by the Paralympic Committee:
When were the first Paralympic Games held? And the first winter Paralympics?
Let's start with the name. "Paralympics" comes from the Greek prefix "para," meaning "parallel," combined with "Olympics." It signals that these competitions run parallel to the Olympic Games—they were born as parallel games.
The man behind it was Ludwig Guttmann, a German neurologist who fled to Britain to escape Nazi persecution. He had an idea: introduce sport into the rehabilitation of soldiers who had been left paraplegic by war.
In 1960, with help from his friend and colleague Antonio Maglio, Guttmann brought competitive sports to Italy during the Rome Olympics. A few years later, these games were given the name First Paralympic Games.
The Paralympic symbol differs from the Olympic rings in both color and design. Instead of five interlocking circles, it features three agitos—one blue, one red, one green. These colors were chosen because they appear most often on the world's flags. The logo itself represents the body, the mind, and the spirit of athletes with disabilities.
The first official Paralympic Games took place in Sweden from February 21 to 28, 1976. The competition included alpine skiing and cross-country skiing for amputees and people with visual impairments, and sledge hockey as a demonstration sport. Ninety-eight athletes from 16 nations participated—a remarkable achievement, considering nothing like it had ever been held before.
The Paralympic Games are the Olympic equivalent for people with physical disabilities. In Italy, they are still called the Paralimpiadi—the official term until 2004. Managing and advancing Paralympic swimming in light of the evolving national and international sports landscape was the driving force behind the creation of FINP, the Italian Federation of Paralympic Swimming, on September 25, 2010. This decision reflected the new organizational structure of the Italian Paralympic Committee and the goal of integrating Paralympic disciplines into their respective Olympic Federations. Swimming has become one of the leading sports for people with disabilities.