Wheelchair Racing

The sport of wheelchair racing is divided into two subsets. The first one, non-powered, is typically referred to as wheelchair track and field racing. The second type, powered, wheelchair racing is a relatively new sport that has grown incredibly popular in recent years. Depending on the type of racing event the powered wheelchair might legitimately be confused for a specialized Go Kart.

Wheelchair racing, whether powered or non-powered, is a very popular sport the world over. Even individuals that are fully functional occasionally participate in this sport for charity causes or just for fun. As long as the only means of propulsion for the racer is their upper body or the motor of the wheelchair all contestants are on equal footing. When it comes to motorized wheelchairs the contestants will all typically use similar models and need to use roughly equivalent engine sizes to compete. Individual races will vary.

Wheelchair racing is an international sport and it is part of the Paralympics in its track and field iteration. The standardized professional races included short, middle, and long distance races. These races vary between one hundred and ten thousand meter racing distances at the Paralympic games.

There are many tricks of the trade in this sport when it is performed outside of flat tracks. In non-powered races, for instance, a racer might decide to turn their wheelchair backward to travel up a steep hill by pulling on their wheels instead of pushing. This is considered a much faster method of traversing a steep incline.