The 2014

IPC Athletics European Championships The World Para Athletics European Championships (''European Para Athletics Championships''), known prior to 2018 as the IPC Athletics European Championships is an event organized by World Para Athletics, the international athletics federation estab ...

was a

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

competition for athletes with a

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

open to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) affiliated countries within Europe, plus Azerbaijan and Israel. It was held in Swansea,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and lasted from 18 to 23 August. The competition was staged at

Swansea University Swansea University ( cy, Prifysgol Abertawe) is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. ...

Stadium. Approximately 550 athletes from 37 countries attended the games. Russia won the Games atop the medal table with 41 Gold medals, and also collected the greatest overall medal haul with 88. The host nation, Britain, finished third. Of the 37 competing nations, 34 managed to achieve a podium finish. There were seven world records set and a further seven European records, in a games that was beset by difficult weather conditions throughout the tournament.

Venue

The venue for the Championships was the

athletics stadium.

Format

The 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships is an invitational tournament taking in track and field events. No combined sports were included in the 2014 Championships. Not all events were open to all classifications, though no events were contested between classifications. Athletes finishing in first place are awarded the gold medal, second place the silver medal and third place the bronze. If only three competitors are available to challenge for an event then no bronze medal is awarded. Some events will be classed as 'no medal' events.

Coverage

As with the

2013 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships was the biggest track and field competition for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Lyon, France, and lasted from 20 to 28 July. Around 1,100 athletes competed, f ...

, the IPC produced live streaming footage of the Championships on ParalympicSport.TV. In the United Kingdom

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

continued their commitment to para-sport with their own live streaming website and daily live coverage shown on their sister channel

More4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content When ...

Events

IPC European Athletics Championships - flags of nations

Opening ceremony

The Championship opening ceremony took place at the Swansea University Stadium on the night of 18 August the day before the first events were held. The competition was officially opened by Welsh Assembly Minister John Griffiths followed by an address by the IPC president Sir Philip Craven. The IPC flag carried into the stadium by schoolgirl Molly Hopkins, the youngest Swansea 2014 ambassador, Paralympian champion John Harris, swimmer Jack Thomas and games volunteer Harmony Dumay; before it was raised to signal the opening of the games. The swearing of the oaths were undertaken by Welsh athlete Josie Pearson, her coach Anthony Hughes, and on behalf of the officials by Matt Witt. Entertainment was provided at the venue by singers

Shaheen Jafargholi Shaheen Jafargholi ( fa, شاهین جعفرقلی; born 23 January 1997) is a Welsh actor and singer. In 2009, he finished in seventh place on the ITV competition series ''Britain's Got Talent''. Since then, he has portrayed the roles of Shak ...

and John Adams; and the

Morriston Orpheus Choir The Morriston Orpheus Choir ( cy, Côr Orpheus Treforys, link=no), based in Morriston, near Swansea, Wales, is a male voice choir, one of the best-known in the UK. History The Choir was formed on April 23, 1935, by Ivor E. Sims and in its early ...

Classification

To ensure competition is as fair and balanced as possible, athletes are classified dependent on how their disability impacts on their chosen event/s. Thus athletes may compete in an event against competitors with a different disability to themselves. Where there are more than one classification in one event, (for example discus throw F54/55/56), a points system is used to determine the winner. *F = field athletes *T = track athletes *11-13 – visually impaired, 11 and 12 compete with a

sighted guide A sighted guide is a person who guides a person with blindness or vision impairment. Sports Paralympic Games At the Paralympic Games there are various classifications of athletes with a visual impairment. Rules are according to the Internationa ...

*20 – intellectual disability *31-38 –

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sens ...

or other conditions that affect muscle co-ordination and control. Athletes in class 31-34 compete in a seated position; athletes in class 35-38 compete standing. *41-46 – amputation, ''

les autres Les Autres sport classification is system used in disability sport for people with locomotor disabilities not included in other classification systems for people with physical disabilities. The purpose of this system is to facilitate fair competiti ...

'' *51-58 – wheelchair athletes

Schedule

IPC European Championships Men's 400m T54 Final 1

IPC European Championships Men's 400m - T12 Final

Medal table

The end medal table after day 5, showing all medal winning countries.

Multiple medallists

Many competitors won multiple medals at the 2014 Championships. The following athletes won four medals or more.

Highlights

Broken records

Fourteen records were broken including seven

world records A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

Participating nations

Below is the list of countries who agreed to participate in the Championships and the requested number of athlete places for each. * 6 * 5 * 6 * 5 * 10 * 15 * 7 * 2 * 11 * 19 * 32 * 52 * 35 * 7 * 8 * 3 * 2 * 13 * 8 * 11 * 1 * 1 * 4 * 23 * 33 * 22 * 3 * 74 * 9 * 5 * 2 * 31 * 8 * 9 * 12 * 24 * 34

Footnotes

;Notes ;References

External links

Official web-site
{{2014 in athletics World Para Athletics European Championships

International athletics competitions hosted by Wales Sport in Swansea