Race Events

Wheelchair racing is a form of racing in which athletes compete in racing wheelchairs on both track and road courses. Similar to able-bodied running events, it can take place on an athletics track or as a road race over longer distances.

The sport’s premier competition stage is the Summer Paralympic Games, where wheelchair racing has featured as part of athletics since 1960.

Wheelchair racing track events are typically categorised by distance as follows:

• Sprint events: 100m, 200m and 400m
• Middle-distance events: 800m and 1,500m
• Long-distance events: 5,000m and 10,000m
• Relay events: 4 × 100m and 4 × 400m

Track races take place on a standard athletics track, with each athlete assigned to a single lane. In relay events, however, each team is allocated two lanes. As a result, on an eight-lane track, a maximum of four relay teams can compete simultaneously in a single event.

In addition to track events, there are also road races, most commonly referred to as wheelchair marathons.