© Slovak Post, 2008 The XIII Paralympic Games will be held 6 – 17 September 2008 in Beijing. The sailing and equestrian competitions will be hosted by Qingdao and Hong Kong, respectively. A record number of competitors – more than 4,000 sportsmen and sportswomen from 150 countries – will compete in a record number of 18 sports, with the assistance of 2,500 trainers and support team members. A total of 471 gold medals will be distributed. Media coverage will involve 4,000 people, and 30,000 volunteers from all over the world will facilitate the smooth course of the Games. The competitions will take place in the Olympic sports facilities with the paralympic slogan ‘Spirit in Motion’. The Paralympic movement was inspired by Sir Ludwig Guttman (1899 – 1980), a great physician, the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and the father of the idea of sport as a method of therapy for the disabled. He is also the founder of the British Sports Association of the Disabled, as well as the Summer (1960) and Winter Paralympic Games (1976). He was awarded the Fearnley Cup (1956) – an award for outstanding contribution to the spreading of the Olympic ideal - and inspired many devoted successors. As evident from the increasing number of participants at the Paralympics Games, the paralympic movement is flourishing. The first PG was organised in Rome in 1960 and attended by 400 competitors from 23 countries. The fifth PG in Toronto 1976 was attended by 1,600 competitors from 42 countries. As many as 3,195 sportsmen and sportswomen from 103 countries competed at the X Paralympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, including Slovak competitors who won 11 medals. The Slovak Paralympic Committee was founded on 31 January 1995 as a body associating disabled competitors with physical, sensory (sight and hearing), and mental impairments. It is a member of the International Paralympic Committee associating 161 countries. Let’s hope that the track record of 10 gold, 7 silver, and 14 bronze medals from the Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Sydney, and Athens, in athletics, cycling, archery, swimming, table tennis, and volleyball, will inspire these outstanding sportsmen and sportswomen in the run-up to the Olympic challenge. Peter Osuský