Who founded the Stoke Mandeville Games that led to the Paralympics?

Ludwig Guttmann founded the Stoke Mandeville Games that led to the Paralympics.

Guttmann was a German-born British neurologist who directed the spinal injuries centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire. He used sport as part of rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injuries, helping patients build strength, independence and confidence after serious injury.

On 29 July 1948, the day of the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games, Guttmann organized the first Stoke Mandeville Games. Sixteen injured servicemen and women took part in archery and other wheelchair events. The competition expanded internationally and became a major foundation of the Paralympic movement.

Guttmann is sometimes described as the inventor of disability sport in general, but organized sporting activity for disabled people existed before his work. His distinctive contribution was making competitive sport a central part of spinal-injury rehabilitation and creating an international event that eventually developed into the Paralympics.