EVEN THEY CAN SWIM

Swimming at the Games
Swimming has been part of the Paralympics’ programme since the first Games in Rome 1960. More than 500 swimmers compete at modern Paralympics Games and at Sydney 2000 more than 200,000 spectators attended the swimming events over the nine days of competition.
The Paralympics swimming competitions is an adaptation of the sport of swimming for athletes with disabilities. Paralympics’ Swimming. Not only at the Summer Paralympics Games, but at disabled sports competitions throughout the world. The sport is governed by the International Paralympic Committee, hence the name of "Paralympics" swimming.
The rules for the sport are set by the International Swimming Federation(FINA) some of the rules are the same as those for able-bodied competitions. Significant differences include the starting position and adaptations allowed for visually impaired swimmers. Competitors may start a race by standing on a platform and diving into the pool, as in able-bodied swimming, or by sitting on the platform and diving in, or they may start the race in the water. In events for the blind and visually impaired, people called "tappers" stand at the end of the pool and use a pole to tap the swimmers when they approach the wall, indicating when the swimmer should turn or end the race. Competitors in these events are required to wear blackened goggles, so that partially sighted swimmers compete at an even level with those who are totally blind
Swimmers are classified according to the type and extent of their disability. The classification system allows swimmers to compete against others with a similar level of function. And Swimmers with physical disabilities are allocated a category between 1 and 10, with 1 corresponding to the most severe types of disability. Physical disabilities of Paralympics swimmers include single or multiple limb loss it can because of through birth defects and/or amputation, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries (leading to paralysis or disability in limb coordination), dwarfism, and disabilities which impair the use of joints
Blind and visually impaired swimmers compete within separate categories, Swimmers with mental disabilities compete in category 14. This is the only category not currently represented at the Paralympics Games.
Numbers are combined with a letter prefix depending on the event type. An "S" prefix corresponds to freestyle, backstroke and butterfly, while "SB" corresponds to breaststroke and "SM" to the medley. Hence, a swimmer with severe physical disabilities competing in backstroke may compete in an S3 event, while a blind swimmer in the medley would compete in class SM11
Blind swimmers have to wear blackened goggles to ensure that competition is fair. Goggles are removed at the end of the race and checked by an official
Swimming is a sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities.