| Event: | Wheelchair racing |
| Sport: | Athletics (demonstration) |
| Gender: | Men and women |
| Yearsheld: | 1984 – 2004 |
| Ormen: | 3:06.75 min Saúl Mendoza (2000) |
| Orwomen: | 1:53.66 min Chantal Petitclerc (2004) |
Wheelchair racing at the Summer Olympics featured as demonstration competitions at the multi-sport event, appearing within the Olympic athletics programme from 1984 to 2004.[1] On each occasion two track races were held: a men's 1500 metres race and a women's 800 metres race.[2] This was the first time events for disabled athletes have featured at the Summer Olympic Games,[3] with the Paralympic Games being the traditional venue for top level para-athletics. The wheelchair races were the second Olympic exhibition event for disabled athletes, following on from the disabled skiing at the 1984 Winter Olympics, held earlier that year.[4]
Unofficial medals were awarded to the competitors by Juan Antonio Samaranch, the International Olympic Committee president.[5] [6] The events were dropped prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and multiple Paralympic gold medallist Chantal Petitclerc stated the decision was a major set-back for the sport, as she favoured its official integration as an Olympic sport.[7]
At the inaugural event in 1984 Sharon Hedrick broke the IPC world record to win the women's 800 m in a time of 2:15.73 minutes.[6] This was followed by two record performances in 1992, when Claude Issorat of France set a men's 1500 m record of 3:13.92 minutes and Denmark's Connie Hansen won the 800 m in a record 1:55.62 minutes.[8] The Olympic records for the event were set by Saúl Mendoza, who finished in 3:06.75 minutes to win the 2000 men's 1500 m race,[9] and Chantal Petitclerc, who won the last women's 800 m event in 1:53.66 minutes in 2004.[10] Issorat, Hedrick and Louise Sauvage each won two Olympic wheelchair races; Issorat and Sauvage had three Olympic podium finishes. The United States had the most success in the event, gathering eleven medals over the six editions.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1992–2000 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 2= | 1984–1988 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 2= | 2000–2004 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 4 | 1992–1996 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2= | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2= | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 7= | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 7= | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996–2004 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |||
| 2 | 1984–1988 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 3 | 1988–1992 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 4 | 1992–1996 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 5 | 1984–1992 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 6 | 1984–1988 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |