ABOUT SWIMMING
Swimming is a core event at the Invictus Games, where competitors race through the water using adaptive techniques suited to their abilities. It’s a sport that demands both speed and endurance, as participants push themselves to complete their races in the shortest time possible. Each stroke in the pool represents a step in the competitor’s recovery, highlighting their strength, determination, and the physical and psychological benefits of sports in their rehabilitation journey.
WHAT ARE THE RULES?
There are four individual events:
- 50m Freestyle
- 50m Backstroke
- 50m Breaststroke
- 100m Freestyle
There is also one relay (team) event:
- 4 x 50m Freestyle
Heats will be run if there are eight or more entries per event within a category.
HOW ARE COMPETITORS CATEGORISED?
The categorisation process aims to ensure the best possible competitor experience at the Invictus Games. The Invictus Games is a unique competition which enables all participants to compete fairly across all sports, no matter their impairment type.
Each sport has a different categorization system as the different injuries, illness and impairments affect competitors in different ways in each sport. Each competitor is allocated a category (e.g. IT1, IJ4) for each sport that they compete in. The categorization system relies on integrity and honesty, and a collaborative relationship between all competitors, and all team staff.
HOW DID THE SPORT COME TO BE?
- Para Swimming was one of the eight sports included in the first Paralympic Games in Rome (Italy) in 1960.
- Since then, Para Swimming has been a part of 16 Paralympic Games.
HOW MANY TEAMS ARE THERE?
- Four of the events are individual (see the rules for details).
- For the one relay event, a maximum of one relay team can be entered by any Nation.
WHAT IS THE SIZE OF THE POOL?
- Competitors will swim in a 50 m pool with eight lanes.
- The outer two lanes will be used for competitor entry/exit lanes.
HOW MANY COMPETITORS IN THE POOL AT ONE TIME?
For the individual and relay event, there will be up to eight competitors in the pool at one time.
HOW LONG WILL THE COMPETITION BE?
- The length of the competition will be determined by the time it takes for all competitors to finish their race.
- The competition will be split into heats and finals sessions. Relays will take place during the finals session.
IS THIS A NEW SPORT FOR THE INVICTUS GAMES?
Swimming featured in the first Invictus Games in 2014 and has appeared in every Invictus Games since!
INTERESTING FACTS
- Para Swimming is practiced internationally by athletes in almost 100 countries.
- Canada has enjoyed enormous international success in Para swimming: Tim McIsaac won 28 Paralympic medals in his career while Michael Edgson has 20!
CEREMONIES
SPORT
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