United Arab Emirates at the Paralympics
Encyclopedia
The United Arab Emirates
started actively participating in the Paralympic community during the 1990s. They made their debut at the 1992 Summer Paralympics
. Since that time, they have won several Paralympic medals. The country had their debut on the international Paralympic stage at the 1990 Stoke Mandeville Games. Some of the country's Paralympic competitors are internationally ranked. The United Arab Emirates have competed at several other Paralympic events including the Arab Paralympic Games, Asian Paralympic Games, IWAS World Games, Stoke Mandeville Games, and World Semi-Olympic Championship. (The country has never participated at the Winter Paralympic Games.) United Arab Emirates Paralympic Committee is the national organisation, gaining its International Paralympic Committee
recognition in 1995 and have subsequently made winning medals and hosting events a priority.
début at the 1992 Summer Paralympics
in Barcelona
, by sending only one athlete (Ali Saif), in weightlifting. The country has competed in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since then, and Emirati Paralympians have won a total of nine medals: one gold, five silver, and three bronze. Until 2008, Emirati competitors were all men, and entered only athletics and weightlifting/powerlifting
. At the 2008 Games
, however, the country entered its first female competitor, Thuraya Alzaabi, in discus and javelin after previous having refused to allow women to represent the country at the Paralympic Games. 2008 also saw an Emirati, Abulla Al Aryani, compete in shooting
- the first time the country had entered a competitor in any sport other than weighlifting/powerlifting
or track and field
.
, Ukraine
, Ivory Coast, Former Yugoslavia
, the Kyrgyz Republic
, Qatar
, Macedonia
, Saudi Arabia
, Angola
and Bosnia Herzegovina. In 2008, Mohammed Mohammed Fadel Al Hameli because the chairman of the United Arab Emirates Paralympics Committee at a time when the organisation had a new board installed. The new leadership made it a priority to improve sporting facilities accessible for disabled athletes in the country as part of the country's preparations for sending their athletes to the 2012 Summer Paralympics
. The Committee decided to focus on developing athletes in the following sports: shooting
, powerlifting
and wheelchair racing
.
In 2010, the country hosted an international forum on Sports for People with a Disability. Participation and hosting of this event was inspiration for the country in trying to host an international Paralympic event.The country is a member of the Asian Paralympic Committee
, in the West Asia Sub Region.
. Malaleih Hassan won a gold in the shot put
event. Alzaabi Thuraya, Alzarouni Mohamed and Alaryani Abdulla Sultan also competed at the Games.
. The United Arab Emirates won two gold medals, two silver medals and five bronze medals at the event.
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
started actively participating in the Paralympic community during the 1990s. They made their debut at the 1992 Summer Paralympics
1992 Summer Paralympics
The 1992 Summer Paralympics were the ninth Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.- Sports :The games consisted of 487 events spread over fifteen sports. Powerlifting and weightlifting were considered to be a single sport...
. Since that time, they have won several Paralympic medals. The country had their debut on the international Paralympic stage at the 1990 Stoke Mandeville Games. Some of the country's Paralympic competitors are internationally ranked. The United Arab Emirates have competed at several other Paralympic events including the Arab Paralympic Games, Asian Paralympic Games, IWAS World Games, Stoke Mandeville Games, and World Semi-Olympic Championship. (The country has never participated at the Winter Paralympic Games.) United Arab Emirates Paralympic Committee is the national organisation, gaining its International Paralympic Committee
International Paralympic Committee
The International Paralympic Committee is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nine sports...
recognition in 1995 and have subsequently made winning medals and hosting events a priority.
Summer Paralympics
The country made their Paralympic GamesParalympic Games
The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...
début at the 1992 Summer Paralympics
1992 Summer Paralympics
The 1992 Summer Paralympics were the ninth Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.- Sports :The games consisted of 487 events spread over fifteen sports. Powerlifting and weightlifting were considered to be a single sport...
in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, by sending only one athlete (Ali Saif), in weightlifting. The country has competed in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since then, and Emirati Paralympians have won a total of nine medals: one gold, five silver, and three bronze. Until 2008, Emirati competitors were all men, and entered only athletics and weightlifting/powerlifting
Powerlifting
Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...
. At the 2008 Games
2008 Summer Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to September 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao....
, however, the country entered its first female competitor, Thuraya Alzaabi, in discus and javelin after previous having refused to allow women to represent the country at the Paralympic Games. 2008 also saw an Emirati, Abulla Al Aryani, compete in shooting
Shooting at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Shooting at the 2008 Summer Paralympics consisted of twelve events. The competition was held in the Beijing Shooting Range Hall from 7 September to 12 September.-Classification:...
- the first time the country had entered a competitor in any sport other than weighlifting/powerlifting
Powerlifting
Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...
or track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
.
Paralympic Game Medallists
| Medal | Name | Games | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 Athens 2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics were held in Athens, Greece, from September 17 to September 28. The twelfth Paralympic Games, an estimated 4,000 athletes took part in the Athens programme, with ages ranging from 11 to 66. Paralympic events had already taken place during the 2004 Summer Olympics as... |
Powerlifting Powerlifting at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Powerlifting at the 2004 Summer Paralympics did not have disability categories. There was a requirement for a minimum level of physical disbility, which may have been caused by amputation, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries or various other specified conditions. The only classification was by... |
Men's up to 82.5 kg | ||
| 2000 Sydney 2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 October to 29 October. The eleventh Summer Paralympic Games, an estimated 3800 athletes took part in the Sydney programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000... |
Athletics Athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics comprised a total of 234 events, 165 for men and 69 for women. Athletes were classified according to the extent and type of their disability.* Classes 11-13: visually impaired athletes... |
Men's 400m T36 | ||
| 2000 Sydney 2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 October to 29 October. The eleventh Summer Paralympic Games, an estimated 3800 athletes took part in the Sydney programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000... |
Athletics Athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics comprised a total of 234 events, 165 for men and 69 for women. Athletes were classified according to the extent and type of their disability.* Classes 11-13: visually impaired athletes... |
Men's 400m T52 | ||
| 2000 Sydney 2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 October to 29 October. The eleventh Summer Paralympic Games, an estimated 3800 athletes took part in the Sydney programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000... |
Athletics Athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics comprised a total of 234 events, 165 for men and 69 for women. Athletes were classified according to the extent and type of their disability.* Classes 11-13: visually impaired athletes... |
Men's javelin F52 | ||
| 2004 Athens 2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics were held in Athens, Greece, from September 17 to September 28. The twelfth Paralympic Games, an estimated 4,000 athletes took part in the Athens programme, with ages ranging from 11 to 66. Paralympic events had already taken place during the 2004 Summer Olympics as... |
Athletics Athletics at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Athletics at the 2004 Summer Paralympics included 17 events for men and 15 events for women, in 5 disciplines. Athletes competed in one of four disability categories:*Blind or visually impaired athletes - Sport classes 11 to 13.... |
Men's shot put F32 | ||
| 2008 Beijing 2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to September 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao.... |
Powerlifting Powerlifting at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Powerlifting at the 2008 Summer Paralympics was held in the Beihang University Gymnasium from September 9 to September 16. Any athlete who met a minimum level of disability could take part in these events.-Events:There were twenty powerlifting events, corresponding to ten weight classes each for... |
Men's up to 90 kg | ||
| 2000 Sydney 2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 October to 29 October. The eleventh Summer Paralympic Games, an estimated 3800 athletes took part in the Sydney programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000... |
Athletics Athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics comprised a total of 234 events, 165 for men and 69 for women. Athletes were classified according to the extent and type of their disability.* Classes 11-13: visually impaired athletes... |
Men's 200m T36 | ||
| 2004 Athens 2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics were held in Athens, Greece, from September 17 to September 28. The twelfth Paralympic Games, an estimated 4,000 athletes took part in the Athens programme, with ages ranging from 11 to 66. Paralympic events had already taken place during the 2004 Summer Olympics as... |
Athletics Athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics comprised a total of 234 events, 165 for men and 69 for women. Athletes were classified according to the extent and type of their disability.* Classes 11-13: visually impaired athletes... |
Men's 400m T37 | ||
| 2004 Athens 2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics were held in Athens, Greece, from September 17 to September 28. The twelfth Paralympic Games, an estimated 4,000 athletes took part in the Athens programme, with ages ranging from 11 to 66. Paralympic events had already taken place during the 2004 Summer Olympics as... |
Athletics Athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics comprised a total of 234 events, 165 for men and 69 for women. Athletes were classified according to the extent and type of their disability.* Classes 11-13: visually impaired athletes... |
Men's discus F33-34 |
United Arab Emirates Paralympic Committee
The country's membership was pending at the 1993 International Paralympic Committee General Assembly in Berlin, Germany. The country became a full member of the International Paralympic Committee in 1995, when their membership was ratified at the 1995 International Paralympic Committee General Assembly in Tokyo, Japan. Other countries that were accepted at that session along side the United Arab Emirates included Kazakstan, BermudaBermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Ivory Coast, Former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, the Kyrgyz Republic
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
and Bosnia Herzegovina. In 2008, Mohammed Mohammed Fadel Al Hameli because the chairman of the United Arab Emirates Paralympics Committee at a time when the organisation had a new board installed. The new leadership made it a priority to improve sporting facilities accessible for disabled athletes in the country as part of the country's preparations for sending their athletes to the 2012 Summer Paralympics
2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympic Games will be the fourteenth Paralympics and will take place between 29 August and 9 September 2012. The Games will be held in London, United Kingdom after the city was successful with its bid for the Paralympics and Summer Olympic Games.Even though 2012 will be London's...
. The Committee decided to focus on developing athletes in the following sports: shooting
Shooting
Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...
, powerlifting
Powerlifting
Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...
and wheelchair racing
Wheelchair racing
Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted . Athletes are classified in accordance with the nature and severity of their...
.
In 2010, the country hosted an international forum on Sports for People with a Disability. Participation and hosting of this event was inspiration for the country in trying to host an international Paralympic event.The country is a member of the Asian Paralympic Committee
Asian Paralympic Committee
The Asian Paralympic Committee is an organization based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Its Asian membership is 41 National Paralympic Committees.-History:...
, in the West Asia Sub Region.
Athletes
Athletes from the country have greatly improve since they first began competing in the Games, some of whom are currently internationally ranked. Amongst those are Mohammad Vahdani who is ranked fourth , Jasim Alnaqbi seventeenth and Mahmood Albalooshi who is ranked seventy-seventh in the Men's 100 m T54 event. In the Women's 100 m T54 event, Patricia Keller is ranked nineteenth, and Andrea von Bueren is ranked twenty-fourthArab Paralympic Games
The country took part in the 1999 Arab Paralympic Games held in Amman, Jordan. They won four gold medals, three silver medals and five bronze medals at the event, ranking tenth in total medal count amongst sixteen countries competing.Asian Paralympic Games
The nation participated in the Asian Paralympic Games in 2010 in GuangzhouGuangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
. Malaleih Hassan won a gold in the shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
event. Alzaabi Thuraya, Alzarouni Mohamed and Alaryani Abdulla Sultan also competed at the Games.
IWAS World Games
In December 2011, the country will host the IWAS World Games, the games that succeeded the Stoke Mandeville Games.Stoke Mandeville Games
The United Arab Emirates competed at their first major disabled sport competition in 1990 when they participated in the Stoke Mandeville Games. They won a gold medal, and silver and bronze medals at the games. They sent five athletes to the games, powerlifters and table tennis players.World Semi-Olympic Championship
In 1998, the country participated in the World Semi-Olympic Championship in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The United Arab Emirates won two gold medals, two silver medals and five bronze medals at the event.