ABSTRACT

Games. • Explain why athletes with an intellectual disability are currently banned

from Paralympic competition and some of the ramifications of this ban.

There are still many individuals around the world who believe that the Special Olympics and the Paralympic Games are one and the same event. The aim of this chapter is, therefore, first, to explain the difference between the two movements. It will then go on to discuss the participation of athletes with an intellectual disability in the Paralympic Games and why they are currently banned from participation following the scandal that occurred with the Spanish Intellectually Disabled Basketball team at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. The ramifications of this ban for both for the Paralympic Movement and for those athletes with an intellectual disability currently prevented from competing at the Paralympic Games will then be discussed.