Examining the Inclusion of Wheelchair Exhibition Events within the Olympic Games 1984–2004

Abstract

The inclusion of athletes with a disability within the mainstream of sport has been an issue within the Paralympic Movement since its inception. Prior research pertaining to inclusion of athletes with a disability into mainstream sport is reviewed, with particular note being made of the absence of any substantial body of knowledge derived from relevant academic study related to inclusion in the Olympic Games. This paper then examines from a historical perspective, using archival documents and interviews with key stakeholders, how athletes with a disability have been included within the Olympic Games under the auspices of exhibition events from the 1984 Winter and Summer Olympic Games in Sarajevo and Los Angeles until the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. This historical review uses the Organizational Continuum for the Inclusion of Identify Groups in Sport developed by Fay to identify changes during the twenty-year period. Lastly, the authors lay the groundwork for future academic inquiry by using Fay's model to provide a series of alternatives of how future inclusion of athletes with a disability within the Olympic Games could be structured to better serve the Olympic and Paralympic Movements.