47. When, where and how did the Paralympic Games begin?

Ahead of the para events at Tokyo 2020 (in 2021), we investigate the history of the Paralympic Games. Our special Paralympian guest is two-time swimming medalist Peter Hill. Long before it became a Paralympic sport, Peter was also involved in the early development of murderball (yes, that’s a real sport), and he’s dabbled in many more para-sports. How are some questions for after you listen to today’s episode: What’s my favourite Paralympic sport? What does the Greek word “para” mean? What was the name of the UK hospital which used sports to try to help injured people after World War II? And what was the name of the Jewish-German doctor who ran the program at that hospital? What happened on 29 July 1948, the same day as the London 1948 Olympic Games began? When did the first Winter Paralympic Games happen? Read industry reviews of Dad’s World War II novels, A Chance Kill and The Slightest Chance, at paulletters.com. Available on Kindle, as well as in paperback. Dad’s first wartime novel, A Chance Kill, is a love-story/thriller based on real events in Poland, Paris, London and Prague. The Slightest Chance follows the remarkable true story of the only escape from Japanese imprisonment by a Western woman during World War II. Please rate and review us wherever you get podcasts. And share our podcast on social media and recommend it to friends – that's how we'll keep going. We’ll be back on the first Monday of next month! Podcast cover art by Molly Austin All instrumental music is from https://filmmusic.io and composed by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Sound effects used under RemArc Licence. Copyright 2021 © BBC