The International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IWAS) World Games (or IWAS World Games) are a multi-sport competition for athletes with a disability, which were the forerunner of the Paralympic Games. The competition has been formerly known as the World Wheelchair and Amputee Games, the World Wheelchair Games, the International Stoke Mandeville Games, the Stoke Mandeville Games (SMG), and in the 1960s and 1970s was often referred to as the Wheelchair Olympics.
The Games were originally held in 1948 by neurologist Sir Ludwig Guttmann, who organized a sporting competition involving World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital rehabilitation facility in Aylesbury, England, taking place concurrently with the first post-war Summer Olympics in London. In 1952, the Netherlands joined in the event, creating the first international sports competition for disabled people. In 1960, the Ninth Stoke Mandeville Games were held in Rome, Italy, following that year's Olympic Games. These are considered to be the first Paralympic Games. The 2012 Paralympic mascot Mandeville was named after Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
While the Paralympic Games evolved to include athletes from all disability groups, the Stoke Mandeville games continued to be organized as a multi-sport event for wheelchair athletes. Games were held annually in Aylesbury under the direction of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF), which became the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation (ISMWSF).
In 1999, the World Wheelchair Games were held in Christchurch, New Zealand. In 2003, the Games were again held in Christchurch, and combined with a competition for amputee athletes organized by the International Sports Organization for the Disabled. In 2004, ISMWSF and ISOD merged to create the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS). The first games held under the name IWAS World Wheelchair and Amputee Games were held in 2005 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The second IWAS Games were held in 2007 in Chinese Taipei and the third IWAS games were held in Bangalore, India in November 2009.
Games by year
The inaugural competition, initially named "Stoke Mandeville Games for the Paralyzed" in 1948, was just named "Stoke Mandeville Games" the next year, before becoming the "International Stoke Mandeville Games" (ISMG) in 1952.
Beginning in 1960 during Summer Olympic years, the ISMG were held in the same host city as the Summer Olympics. These particular editions of the Games were retroactively recognised as being the first four Summer Paralympic Games. The Games were otherwise hosted in Stoke Mandeville in all other years. Beginning in 1976, the Paralympic Games began hosting athletes from various disability groups, and considered a distinct event from the ISMG—which were held in Stoke Mandeville during non-Olympic years until 1997.
| Year | Name of the event | Host | Annotation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Stoke Mandeville Games for the Paralyzed |
 Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
July 28, 1948, archery competition, 16 competitors (14 men, 2 women) |
| 1949 | Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
Six teams competed.'wheelchair netball' (later wheelchair basketball) was introduced. |
| 1950 | Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
|
| 1951 | Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
|
| 1952 | 1st International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
A Dutch team participated, making it an international event |
| 1953 | 2nd International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
|
| 1954 | 3rd International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
|
| 1955 | 4th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
|
| 1956 | 5th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
|
| 1957 | 6th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
|
| 1958 | 7th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
|
| 1959 | 8th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
|
| 1960 | 9th International Stoke Mandeville Games. later known as the 1st Paralympic Games. |
 Rome, Italy
|
400 competitors from 23 countries (10 with medalists) in 8 sports. 1st edition occurring outside UK, in the same host city as the Summer Olympic Games, in the hope of becoming better internationally recognized and integrated with other national and international sports federations to organize what will become later the Paralympic Games. |
| 1961 | 10th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1962 | 11th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
|
| 1963 | 12th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
|
| 1964 | 13th International Stoke Mandeville Games. later known as the 2nd Paralympic Games. |
 Tokyo, Japan
|
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| 1965 | 14th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1966 | 15th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1967 | 16th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1968 | 17th International Stoke Mandeville Games. later known as the 3rd Paralympic Games. |
 Tel Aviv, Israel
|
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| 1969 | 18th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1970 | 19th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1971 | 20th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1972 | 21st International Stoke Mandeville Games. later known as the 4th Paralympic Games. |
 Heidelberg, West Germany
|
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| 1973 | 22nd International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1974 | 23rd International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1975 | 24th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1976 | 5th Summer Paralympics |
 Toronto, Canada
|
1st games that are fully recognized as Paralympic Games, and no longer counted as International Stoke Mandeville Games. |
| 1977 | 25th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1978 | 26th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1979 | 27th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1980 | 6th Summer Paralympics |
 Arnhem, Netherlands
|
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| 1981 | 28th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1982 | 29th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1983 | 30th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
|
| 1984 | 7th Summer Paralympics |
 Long Island, New York, United States Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
Two separate competitions: one in UK (22 July–1 August) for wheelchair athletes with spinal cord injuries, and the other before in USA (17–30 June) for wheelchair and ambulatory athletes with cerebral palsy, amputees, and les autres [the others]. |
| 1985 | 31st International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1986 | 32nd International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1987 | 33rd International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
|
| 1988 | 8th Summer Paralympics |
 Seoul, South Korea
|
1st edition formally recognized by the new International Co-ordinating Committee (ICC), in coordination with the IPC and IOC, which allowed greater co-operation by National Olympic Committees in regards to the organization of Paralympic Games along with the Olympic Games. |
| 1989 | 34th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1990 | 35th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1991 | 36th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1992 | 9th Summer Paralympics |
 Barcelona, Spain
|
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| 1993 | 37th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1994 | 38th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1995 | 39th International Stoke Mandeville Games |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
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| 1996 | 10th Summer Paralympics |
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
|
From 1997, the former International Stoke Mandeville Games yearly event (except on years of Paralympic Games already replacing them) became the "World Wheelchair Games"; it was later renamed "World Wheelchair and Amputee Games" from 2005, and "International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IWAS) World Games" from 2009.
| Year | Name of the event | Host | Annotation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | World Wheelchair Games | ||
| 1998 | World Wheelchair Games | ||
| 1999 | World Wheelchair Games |
 Christchurch, New Zealand
|
|
| 2000 | 11th Summer Paralympics |
 Sydney, Australia
|
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| 2001 | World Wheelchair Games | ||
| 2002 | World Wheelchair Games | ||
| 2003 | World Wheelchair Games |
Christchurch, New Zealand
|
|
| 2004 | 12th Summer Paralympics |
 Athens, Greece
|
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| 2005 | World Wheelchair and Amputee Games |
 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
Over 700 athletes from 44 nations. Five events: track and field, table tennis, archery, shooting, and billiards. |
| 2006 | World Wheelchair and Amputee Games |
 Bangalore, Karnataka, India
|
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| 2007 | World Wheelchair and Amputee Games |
 Taipei, Republic of China
|
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| 2008 | 13th Summer Paralympics |
 Beijing, People's Republic of China
|
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| 2009 | IWAS World Games |
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
|
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| 2011 | IWAS World Games |
 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
|
December 1–10, 2011 |
| 2012 | 14th Summer Paralympics |
London, United Kingdom
|
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| 2013 | IWAS World Games |
Stadskanaal, Netherlands
|
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| 2015 | IWAS World Games |
 Sochi, Russia
|
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| 2016 | 15th Summer Paralympics |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
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| 2017 | IWAS World Games |
 Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal
|
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| 2019 | IWAS World Games |
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
|
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| 2021 | replaced by the 16th Summer Paralympic Games postponed from 2020 to 2021 | ||
| 2022 | IWAS World Games |
Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal
|
On 15 March 2022, IWAS decided to relocate it from Sochi, Russia to Vila Real de Santo António and earlier, on 9 March 2022, IWAS stated that no participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials are allowed |
| 2023 | IWAS World Games |
 Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
|
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| 2024 | 17th Summer Paralympics |
 Paris, France
|
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| 2025 | |||
IWAS World Games
Names :
- 1-International Stoke Mandeville Games (1948 to 1995): 39 editions occurring every year (including 4 editions before 1976 that were backwardly recognized also as the first 4 Paralympic Games), except on years of Paralympic Games since 1976
- 2-World Wheelchair Games (1997 to 2003): 6 editions occurring every year, except on years of Paralympic Games
- 3-World Wheelchair and Amputee Games (2005 to 2007): 3 editions occurring every year, except on years of Paralympic Games
- 4-IWAS World Games (since 2009): 6 editions occurring every 2 years with odd numbers, except on years of Paralympic Games (when the Paralympic Games were postponed from 2020 to 2021, they replaced the IWAS World Games)
| No. | Year | Host City | Events |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2009 |
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
|
|
| 2 | 2011 |
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
|
|
| 3 | 2013 |
Stadskanaal, Netherlands
|
|
| 4 | 2015 |
Sochi, Russia
|
|
| 5 | 2017 |
Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal
|
|
| 6 | 2019 |
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
|
|
| — | 2021 | replaced by the 16th Summer Paralympic Games postponed from 2020 to 2021 | |
| 7 | 2022 |
Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal
|
|
| 8 | 2023 |
Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
|
|
| 9 | 2025 | ||
IWAS Under 23 World Games (IWAS Junior World Games)
For some years now, the IWAS Federation has hosted junior competitions, which were named IWAS World Junior Games by 2015. Since 2016 they are called IWAS Under 23 World Games and will only be played in years with even numbers.
| No. | Year | Dates | Host City | Venue | Events | Results List |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2005 | 6–7 July |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
Result list | ||
| 2 | 2006 | 14–16 July |
 Dublin, Ireland
|
Result list | ||
| 3 | 2007 | 4–6 April |
 Ekurhuleni, South Africa
|
Germiston Sports Precinct | Result list Archived 2016-09-16 at the Wayback Machine | |
| 4 | 2008 | 18–27 July |
Piscataway, New Jersey, United States
|
Results Archived 2016-09-16 at the Wayback Machine | ||
| 5 | 2009 | 16–19 July |
 Nottwil, Switzerland
|
SPZ Nottwil | Result list | |
| 6 | 2010 | 19–26 August |
 Olomouc, Czech Republic
|
Results Archived 2018-09-17 at the Wayback Machine | ||
| 7 | 2011 | 14–21 April |
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
|
Result List | ||
| 8 | 2012 | 19–21 July |
Olomouc, Czech Republic
|
Results | ||
| 9 | 2013 | 14–21 August |
 Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
|
Central American Stadium | Ergebnisliste | |
| 10 | 2014 | 3–7 August |
Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom
|
Results | ||
| 11 | 2015 | 2–8 July |
Stadskanaal, Netherlands
|
Sportpark Stadskanaal | Ergebnisliste | |
| 12 | 2016 | 29 June–3 July |
Prague, Czech Republic
|
Results |
See also
External links
- Summer Games Governance 1960 to 1992, IWAS
- IWAS World Games from the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) website
- "2012 – The Paralympics come home", BBC, July 4, 2008. A look back at the origins of the Stoke Mandeville Games.
