While many of the world’s most famous athletes are gearing up（ 做好准备） for the Beijing Olympics in August, there are other athletes training every bit as hard for a second Olympic games in September.

The 14th Paralympic Games will see disabled athletes （ 残疾运动员）from around the world compete in 20 events ranging from wheelchair fencing（ 轮椅击剑） to powerlifting.（ 力量举重）

The Paralympic movement began at a British hospital in the aftermath（ 后果） of the Second World War, when sport was introduced as a therapeutic treatment （ 治疗处理）for returning servicemen （ 军人）with spinal injuries（ 脊髓损伤）.

The first games took place in 1948 in London with two British teams competing in an archery（ 射箭） competition. By 1960 the games had grown to include international athletes and were held in the same city as the Olympic Games.

It is unclear where the name Paralympics came from but it was probably first coined （ 被发明）as a pun（ 妙语双关） or ‘portmanteau’（ 合成词） word combining the words paraplegic（ 半身麻痹的） and Olympic. These days, however, the term ‘para’ is seen to signify a parallel（平行的，同时进行的） competition that sits side by side with the main Olympic Games.

As well as athletes who have suffered spinal injuries, the modern Paralympics invites competitors with visual impairment（ 视觉缺陷）, athletes with cerebral palsy（ 视觉缺陷 ）, and amputees（ 截肢患者） to participate in the games.

Although most of the Paralympic sports are also included in the Olympic Games, there are some sports that are unique to the Paralympics.

Boccia is a game similar to bowls（ 滚球运动） in which the competitor attempts to throw a number of leather balls as closely as possible to a target ball; the wheelchair dance event sees athletes perform dance routines（ 舞蹈动作） with each other or with able-bodied（ 体格健全的） partners.

So if you are a sports fan, remember that when the Olympic Games have finished, the Paralympics are just about to begin.