The Paralympic games — originally called the International Wheelchair Games — were first held in 1948 for World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries. The games were held in London at the same time as the 1948 London Olympic games.
Fast forward 68 years, and the Paralympics are the third largest international sporting event, just after the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. The games didn’t start out so big. The first official Paralympics, held in Rome in 1960, were only open for athletes in wheelchairs. The games expanded to athletes with different disabilities in 1976. Starting in 1988 in Seoul, the games were held immediately after the Olympics in the same facilities.