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Boccia at the Summer Paralympics facts for kids

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Boccia at the Summer Paralympics
Boccia pictogram (Paralympics).svg
Governing body CP-ISRA
Events 3 (mixed)
Games
  • 1960
  • 1964
  • 1968
  • 1972
  • 1976
  • 1980
  • 1984
  • 1988
  • 1992
  • 1996
  • 2000
  • 2004
  • 2008
  • 2012
  • 2016
  • 2020
  • 2024

  • Medalists

Boccia has been contested at the Summer Paralympics since the 1984 Games in New York City and Stoke Mandeville.

This sport requires strategy and precision, and is similar to curling or French pétanque. It is played on a court 12.5 m by 6 m wide. Each team has 6 leather balls, and must bring them as close as possible to a white ball called a “jack”.

Five boccia events were held at those games, two for men, two for women, and one mixed event where men and women competed together. From 1988 until 2020, all boccia events at the Paralympics have been mixed. In 2024, separate events for men and women as individuals will be reintroduced, while pairs and team competition will remain mixed sex. Athletes in this sport have cerebral palsy and are given a classification according to the extent of their disability. There were originally two classes, C1 and C2, with C1 corresponding to those with more severe impairment. In 1996 a "C1 with aid device" class was added, and in 2000 the system was changed to have four classes, BC1 through BC4.

With the reintroduction of the separate sex classifications for individual play, the 2024 Paralympic Games will have the highest number of events in the history of the sport, eleven.

Summary

Games Year Events Best Nation
1 1960 not held
2 1964
3 1968
4 1972
5 1976
6 1978
7 1984 5  United States
8 1988 3  South Korea
9 1992 3  Spain
10 1996 5  Spain
11 2000 5  Ireland
12 2004 7  Portugal
13 2008 7  Brazil /  South Korea
14 2012 7  Brazil
15 2016 7  Thailand
16 2020 7  Slovakia
17 2024 11 tbc

Events

The table below gives the total number of boccia events and the disability classifications contested in individual, pairs, and team competition for each edition of the Summer Paralympics. All events were mixed unless noted otherwise.

Year Number
of events
Individual events Pairs events Team events
1984 5 Men's C1
Men's C2
Women's C1
Women's C2
Open
1988 3 C1
C2
C1–C2
1992 3 C1
C2
C1–C2
1996 5 C1
C1 with aid device
C2
C1 with aid device C1–C2
2000 5 BC1
BC2
BC3
BC3 BC1–BC2
2004 7 BC1
BC2
BC3
BC4
BC3
BC4
BC1–BC2
2008 7 BC1
BC2
BC3
BC4
BC3
BC4
BC1–BC2
2012 7 BC1

BC2

BC3

BC4

BC3

BC4

BC1-BC2
2016 7 BC1

BC2

BC3

BC4

BC3

BC4

BC1-BC2
2020 7 BC1

BC2

BC3

BC4

BC3

BC4

BC1-BC2
2024 11 Men's BC1
Men's BC2
Men's BC3
Men's BC4
Women's BC1
Women's BC2
Women's BC3
Women's BC4
BC3
BC4
BC1-BC2

Medal table

Updated after the 2020 Summer Paralympics

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  South Korea (KOR) 10 6 7 23
2  Portugal (POR) 8 10 9 27
3  Thailand (THA) 6 2 4 12
4  Brazil (BRA) 6 1 4 11
5  Spain (ESP) 5 7 7 19
6  Great Britain (GBR) 5 5 3 13
7  Hong Kong (HKG) 4 2 1 7
8  Ireland (IRL) 3 1 2 6
9  Slovakia (SVK) 3 1 0 4
10  United States (USA) 2 2 3 7
11  Greece (GRE) 1 3 3 7
12  Denmark (DEN) 1 3 2 6
13  Japan (JPN) 1 3 1 5
14  Canada (CAN) 1 2 5 8
15  Czech Republic (CZE) 1 1 1 3
16  China (CHN) 0 4 1 5
17  Norway (NOR) 0 1 1 2
18  Malaysia (MAS) 0 1 0 1
 Netherlands (NED) 0 1 0 1
 New Zealand (NZL) 0 1 0 1
21  Australia (AUS) 0 0 2 2
 Belgium (BEL) 0 0 2 2
23  Hungary (HUN) 0 0 1 1
 RPC (RPC) 0 0 1 1
Totals (24 entries) 57 57 60 174

Multi medalists

Boccia players who have won two gold medals or five medals. Active players are in bold.

No. Athlete Country Years Games Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Dirceu Pinto  Brazil (BRA) 2008-2016 3 M 4 1 0 5
2 Antonio Cid  Spain (ESP) 1992-2004 4 M 3 2 1 6
2 Jeong Ho-won  South Korea (KOR) 2008-2020 4 M 3 2 1 6
4 David Smith  Great Britain (GBR) 2008-2020 4 M 3 1 1 5
5 João Paulo Fernandes  Portugal (POR) 2004-2008 2 M 3 1 0 4
6 Pattaya Tadtong  Thailand (THA) 2004-2016 3 M 3 0 1 4
7 Antonio Marques  Portugal (POR) 1988, 1996-2008, 2016 6 M 2 3 2 7
8 Eliseu dos Santos  Brazil (BRA) 2008-2016 3 M 2 1 2 5
9 Grigorios Polychronidis  Greece (GRE) 2012-2024 4 M 1 3 3 7
10 Nigel Murray  Great Britain (GBR) 2000-2012 4 M 2 1 1 4
11 Henrik Jorgensen  Denmark (DEN) 1984-1996, 2004 5 M 1 3 2 6

Nations

 Argentina (ARG)                                 6
 Australia (AUS)                                 6
 Austria (AUT)                                 3
 Belgium (BEL)                                 6
 Bermuda (BER)                                 1
 Brazil (BRA)                                 4
 Canada (CAN)                                 10
 China (CHN)                                 4
 Colombia (COL)                                 1
 Croatia (CRO)                                 1
 Czech Republic (CZE)                                 6
 Denmark (DEN)                                 5
 Finland (FIN)                                 1
 France (FRA)                                 1
 Great Britain (GBR)                                 10
 Germany (GER)                                 1
 Greece (GRE)                                 5
 Hong Kong (HKG)                                 5
 Hungary (HUN)                                 2
 Ireland (IRL)                                 7
 Israel (ISR)                                 2
 Japan (JPN)                                 4
 Kuwait (KUW)                                 1
 Malaysia (MAS)                                 1
 Mexico (MEX)                                 3
 Netherlands (NED)                                 2
 New Zealand (NZL)                                 4
 Norway (NOR)                                 6
 Portugal (POR)                                 10
 Singapore (SGP)                                 2
 Slovakia (SVK)                                 5
 South Korea (KOR)                                 9
 Spain (ESP)                                 7
 Sweden (SWE)                                 4
 Thailand (THA)                                 5
 United States (USA)                                 8
Nations 5 8 11 14 14 18 20 21 23 24
Competitors 19 34 42 64 64 84 88 103 106 106
Year 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Bochas en los Juegos Paralímpicos para niños

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