The
International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IWAS) World Games (or
IWAS World Games) are a multi-sport competition for
athletes with a disability, which under the former name of the
International Stoke Mandeville Games were the forerunner of the
Paralympic Games. The competition has been formerly known as the
World Wheelchair and Amputee Games, the
Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games, the
Stoke Mandeville Games, the
World Wheelchair Games, and in the 1960s and 1970s was often referred to as the Wheelchair Olympics.
The Games were originally held in 1948 by neurologist Sir
Ludwig Guttmann, who organized a sporting competition involving
World War II veterans with
spinal cord injuries at the
Stoke Mandeville Hospital rehabilitation facility in
Stoke Mandeville, England, taking place concurrently with the first post-war
Summer Olympics in London. In 1952, the
Netherlands joined in the event, creating the first international sports competition for the disabled. In 1960, the Ninth Stoke Mandeville Games were held in
Rome,
Italy, following that year's
Olympic Games. These are considered to be the first
Paralympic Games. The
2012 Paralympic mascot Mandeville was named after Stoke Mandeville.
While the Paralympic Games evolved to include athletes from all disability groups, the Stoke Mandeville games continued to be organized as a multi-sport event for wheelchair athletes. Games were held annually in Stoke Mandeville under the direction of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF), which became the International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation (ISMWSF).
In 1999, the World Wheelchair Games were held in
Christchurch,
New Zealand. In 2003, the Games were again held in Christchurch, and combined with a competition for
amputee athletes organized by the International Sports Organization for the Disabled. In 2004, ISMWSF and ISOD merged to create the
International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS). The first games held under the name IWAS World Wheelchair and Amputee Games were held in 2005 in
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. The second IWAS Games were held in 2007 in
Chinese Taipei and the third IWAS games were held in Bangalore, India in November 2009.