Sight-impaired athletes: a triumph of willpower and skill

March 15, 2025 Jeremy Wong

The Paralympic Games have long stood as a testament to human resilience, providing a platform where athletes overcome various disabilities to compete at the highest level of sports.

 

The visually impaired athletes who competed in the Paris 2024 Paralympics fought not just for medals but also for recognition of their incredible abilities. Visually impaired athletes must rely on heightened senses and a fine-tuned sense of spatial awareness. They must possess incredible mental resilience to focus on their tasks, pushing through physical and mental barriers to succeed.

 

The Games showcased remarkable feats of athleticism from these extraordinary competitors, who pushed boundaries, broke records and inspired future generations of athletes, sighted or otherwise, to chase their dreams with relentless determination.

To ensure fair competition, the sportspeople competed in one of three International Blind Sports Federation categories: B1 athletes with no light perception in either eye; B2 athletes with a limited ability to see – up to visual acuity of 2/60 or a visual field of less than 5°; and B3 athletes with higher visual acuity but who still have a significant impairment – up to visual acuity of 6/60 or a visual field of less than 20°.

Many events for sight-impaired athletes have been adapted from mainstream sports, while goalball and five-a-side football were specifically designed for them. Key sports for sight-impaired athletes at Paris 2024 are described below.

Athletics

 

One of the most popular and diverse parts of the Paralympic Games, athletics includes sprinting, middle- and long-distance races, and throwing and jumping events. Visually impaired athletes are classified in the T11, T12, and T13 categories, depending on their degree of sight loss, with T11 being the most severe. Athletes rely on the assistance of guides tethered by a short cord, who run alongside to help maintain pace and direction. In the long-jump, sighted guides stand at the take-off point and use audible cues to help athletes orientation. For throwers, assistance may come in the form of a guide’s voice.

 

Katrin Mueller-Rottgardt and guide Noel-Philippe Fiener of Germany compete in Women’s 100m T12 semi-finals. Credit: IPC

 

 

Swimming

 

Classifications for swimmers range from S11 to S13 based on the severity of the visual impairment. Swimmers use ‘tappers’ – individuals who stand at the pool’s edge and tap the swimmers with a pole when they approach the wall, allowing them to prepare for turns or finish the race. Competitors must have an acute sense of timing and spatial awareness to perform successfully given the absence of visual cues.

Judo

 

One of the few combat sports available for visually impaired athletes in the Paralympics, judo is governed by the same rules as in the Olympics, with some modifications for sight-impaired judokas. Athletes begin gripping their opponent’s gi (uniform) at the start of the bout to make up for the lack of visual cues. Judokas need excellent balance, tactile sensitivity and the ability to feel their opponent’s movements to anticipate throws and counters. Judo's dynamic nature makes it a sport where strength, technique and instinct are crucial.

Tandem cycling

 

Visually impaired cyclists ride with a sighted ‘pilot’ who sits at the front of the bike. Communication and coordination between the pair is crucial to maintaining speed and endurance. This demands not only physical strength but also trust between athlete and pilot, as well as an acute sense of body position and spatial awareness.

Goalball

 

Goalball is one of the most iconic sports for visually impaired athletes. The fast-paced game involves teams of three players attempting to throw a ball with embedded bells into the opposing team’s goal. To ensure fairness, all players wear eyeshades. 

Five-a-side football

 

This game is played with a ball that emits a rattling sound. All outfield players are blind or visually impaired, while the goalkeepers are sighted. The pitch is also enclosed by boards to help players orient themselves. Ideally, the crowd is quiet to let the players hear both the ball and instructions from their coaches.

 

 

 

Optometrist and photographer Jeremy Wong has been providing sports vision solutions to help athletes and weekend warriors perform better for over 30 years. His patients have included many Olympic and Commonwealth gold medallists, world champions and professional sports teams.

See Jeremy’s Insta images @eyeguysphotos