Paralympic movement was born in Stoke Mandeville , outside London , in 1948 . The first wheelchair athletes were able to compete at the 1960 Olympics and Paralympics. In an echo of the first , post-World War II Games , injured veterans are among the athletes . They include a U.S. naval officer blinded in Afghanistan and a Briton who lost an arm in Iraq .
Paralympic movement was born in Stoke Mandeville , outside London , in 1948 . 2012 Games will be the biggest yet , with 4,200 competitors from 165 countries . In an echo of the first , post-World War II Games , injured veterans are among the athletes . They include a U.S. naval officer blinded in Afghanistan and a Briton who lost an arm in Iraq .