Flying the flag for Team GB | News

The Paralympic Games, a global celebration of athletic ability and perseverance, originated in Great Britain in 1944.

At the request of the British government, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann opened a spinal injuries centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, aiming to rehabilitate soldiers who had suffered spinal cord injuries during World War II. Dr. Guttmann recognised the therapeutic value of sport in recovery, initially introducing sports as part of rehabilitation. Over time, these activities evolved from rehabilitation exercises to recreational sports, and eventually to competitive events.

In 1948, at the opening ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic games, Dr. Guttmann organised the first ever competition for wheelchair athletes, which he named the Stoke Mandeville games. This event marked the beginning of what would later evolve into the Paralympic Games, which were first held in Rome in 1960 and featured 400 athletes from 23 countries. Since then, they have taken place every four years.

Today, the Yorkshire Regional Spinal Injuries Centre (YRSIC) at Pinderfields Hospital continues to contribute to the Paralympic legacy. Since the first Paralympic Games in Rome, athletes who have been rehabilited at YRSIC have taken part in the games, seeing a total of 37 wheelchair athletes compete in 173 individual events between them and bringing home an impressive 70 medals for Team GB.

This year, Sophie Carrigill, co-captain of the Great Britain Women's Wheelchair Basketball Team and a former patient at the centre, represented the nation at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Over the years, the centre has also provided many clinical staff to support the GB Paralympic Team, a testimate to our fantastic team at YRSIC.

You can learn more about the Yorkshire Regional Spinal Injuries Centre on our website here.