| Some Paralympic records are extremely close to Olympic records. For example, Canadian Donovan Bailey's Olympic record in the 100 metres track event is 9.84 seconds. Nigerian amputee, Ajibola Adeoye, holds the Paralympic record in the same event at 10.72 seconds. |
| Paralympic world records in powerlifting exceed able-bodied records in four classes. While the world record for the able-bodied 60-kilogram class is 190 kg, Metwaly Ibrahim Mathana from Egypt holds the Paralympic record in the same class at 200 kg. |
| The Paralympic Summer Games are the second largest sporting event in the world, second only to the Summer Olympics. |
| 'Para' stands for parallel (equal to), NOT paraplegic. |
| 122 countries competed at the Sydney Paralympic Games, making them the largest Paralympic Games ever. |
| Sailing and wheelchair rugby were full medal sports for the first time at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. |
| Trischa Zorn, a Paralympic swimmer who competed in six Paralympic Games, holds the record for the most gold medals (41) ever won by an athlete in international competition. |
| Two countries which competed in the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games and not the Olympic Games were the Faroe Islands and Macau. |
| Minor modifications are made to the rules of some Olympic sports to accommodate Paralympians' disabilities. For example, visually impaired downhill skiers may use acoustic signals and guides to assist them, but ski the same courses as Olympians. |