The classification of athletes based on their disabilities is key to the Paralympic Games. In each event athletes are classified by officials appointed by the international federation for their particular sport.
The classification system works in the same way as different weight categories for boxing, and is in place to ensure fair competition in events from athletes with different abilities.
In athletics there are five main groups of classes:
* Classes 11, 12 and 13 cover the different levels of visual impairment.
* Class 20 covers athletes with a learning disability.
* Classes 32-38 cover athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy - both wheelchair users (32-34) and those who are ambulant/do not use wheelchairs (35-38).
* Classes 40-46 cover ambulant athletes with different levels of amputations and other impairments, including les Autres – the term for a range of conditions, such as dwarfism, which result in locomotive disorders.
* Classes 51-58 cover athletes with different levels of spinal injuries and amputations who compete in wheelchairs
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