Andina

Lima 2019: Prized Paralympic places up for grabs at Parapan Am Games

Photo: Lima 2019

Photo: Lima 2019

15:41 | Lima, Aug. 21.

There will be more than medals up for grabs for many of the Para athletes competing at the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games from August 23 to September 1.

Lima 2019 will feature a record 1,890 Para athletes competing in 17 Para sports, two more than Toronto 2015, making it the biggest Parapan American Games to date.

At least 13 of those sports will offer qualifying pathways for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, some with direct qualification, while others offer additional quota places for their respective countries.

So many qualifying opportunities will only add to the high quality of competition that is already guaranteed for Lima’s edition of the Parapan American Games.

The sports

Goalball, table tennis, sitting volleyball, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis offer direct qualification to Tokyo 2020.

Athletics, badminton, boccia, cycling (road and track), swimming, powerlifting and taekwondo athletes can earn ranking points that can help them secure a place at Tokyo 2020 or they can achieve MQS (minimum qualification standards) depending on the sport.

The football 5 and judo competitions will be opportunities for teams to meet the IPC qualification standards for the Games.

The wheelchair basketball competition will award three quota places for men and two quota places for women, while the wheelchair tennis competition will also serve as a chance for athletes to compete and earn points for the International Tennis Federation (ITF) wheelchair tennis world ranking.

The winners of the men's and women's singles events will directly qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games wheelchair tennis tournament.

Badminton and taekwondo, both of which will be contested in Lima, are the two sports that will make their Paralympic debuts next year, replacing sailing and football 7.

(END) ISG/MVB

Published: 8/21/2019