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the paris paralympic games will kick off, and athletes will strive to write records and legends that surpass themselves. in the brilliant galaxy of world sports, the paralympic games are like a unique and dazzling pearl, emitting the light of perseverance and self-improvement. this is a history full of courage and struggle. from mandeville in the uk to paris in france, countless disabled people have changed their destiny through sports, creating the glory and changes of the humanistic spirit of sports.

in 1948, 16 patients with lower limb paralysis sat in wheelchairs on the lawn of a residential area near mandeville hospital in the uk, drawing bows and aiming... this was an archery competition organized by lou gutman, the "father of disabled sports". during world war ii, he established the spinal cord department at mandeville hospital to help treat injured officers and soldiers, and at the same time injected his personal ideals that seemed incredible at the time - not only to make the wounded spend their remaining days more comfortably, but also to let them live longer with dignity.

in order to motivate these patients to recover actively, dr. guttmann began to encourage them to participate in sports, which gradually formed the stoke mandeville games, which is widely regarded as the predecessor of the paralympic games.

in 1960, the competition founded by guttmann went beyond mandeville for the first time and came to rome, italy. about 400 disabled athletes from 23 countries and regions participated in the competition. this competition was recognized as the first paralympic games in history.

since the 1976 paralympic games, the participants of summer events are no longer limited to those with spinal injuries, but also include those with amputations and visual impairments. in 1988, the international olympic committee stipulated that the summer olympics and the paralympic games must be held in the same city. since then, the paralympic games and the olympic games share the same theme slogan.

time flies. from the early days when the scale of participation was small and the events were simple, to today when it has become a sporting event that attracts global attention, the paralympic games has continued to grow in development, shining with the light of life of self-improvement and hard work, and conveying the spark of hope of unity and friendship.

at the 1984 new york paralympic games, chinese athletes stepped onto the paralympic stage. ping yali broke the world record with a score of 4.28 meters and won the b2 long jump gold medal, winning the first gold medal for the chinese paralympic delegation. this was earlier than xu haifeng's "zero breakthrough" in los angeles.

there were few participants, few events, and little experience... although it was still in its infancy, the chinese sports delegation's confident, optimistic, and fighting spirit began to bloom on the world stage.

at the 1988 seoul paralympic games, facing many strong opponents, the chinese sports delegation, which had only 43 athletes participating in the four events of track and field, swimming, table tennis and shooting, won 17 gold, 17 silver, 10 bronze medals and 11 world record-breaking athletes with tenacity and perseverance.

since then, the chinese sports delegation has steadily moved forward. in barcelona in 1992, they ranked first in asia in the medal table for the first time. four years later in atlanta, they ranked ninth with 16 gold medals, making it into the top ten for the first time. in sydney, they won 34 gold medals, broke 25 world records, and the total number of gold medals rose to sixth place.

in athens in 2004, as the paralympic games were aligned with the olympic games in terms of venues, facilities, and organizational structure, the chinese sports delegation officially stepped onto the center of the world stage. from athens to beijing, and even to london, rio, and tokyo, they never lost the top spot in the gold medal and medal tables at the summer paralympics, and achieved the top spot in both the gold medal and medal tables for five consecutive sessions.

behind the medal numbers are hou bin, who used his hands and a rope to pull himself, his wheelchair and the torch into the air inch by inch and lit the main torch of the 2008 beijing paralympic games; ma jia, the visually impaired athlete who continued to break world records despite the "rematch storm"; rong jing, the fencer who smiled and wiped tears from her opponent's face in a wheelchair; and zheng tao, the armless veteran who won the gold medal by hitting his head against the wall of the swimming pool... their wonderful performances have long surpassed the competition itself and won the applause and respect of the world.

at the paris paralympic games, chinese paralympic athletes, who are competing for the 11th time, are looking forward to telling the world the chinese story of mutual assistance, friendship and self-improvement through their brave efforts, and continuing the olympic legend.