The National Spinal Injury Center was founded in 1944 by Doctor Ludwig Guttmann. Doctor Guttmann introduced sports as a form of recreation, treatment and rehab. On July 28, 1948, the day of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in London, the Stoke Mandeville Games were established. In 1952 Dutch ex-servicemen joined the movement and the International Stoke Mandeville Games were established. Then in 1960 the International Stoke Mandeville Games were staged in Rome and have gone down in history as the first Paralympic Games.

The Beijing Paralympic torch lighting ceremony will take place at the Temple of Heaven on August 28, 2008. The lighting of the Paralympics flame is meant to symbolize the connection between heaven and man.

The Beijing Paralympics Torch Relay begins on August 29 and will last through September 6.  The relay will follow two routes simultaneously; the “Route of Ancient China” and the “Route of Modern China.” Along the two routes there will be a total of 850 torchbearers.

The Ancient China route will start at the Temple of Heaven.  This route will proceed to pass through ancient Chinese capitals or cities of historic and cultural significance.  Cities along this route include Xi’an, Hohhot, Changsha, Nanjing and Luoyang.

While the Modern China route also begins at the Temple of Heaven. It will pass through some of the nation’s more developed cities.  Cities along the modern route include Shenzhen, Wuhan, Qingdao, Dalian and Shanghai.

On September 5, the two relay routes will meet in Beijing. The flame’s will continue their tour of Beijing before the lighting of the main cauldron at the Bird’s Nest on September 6.

Beijing will play host to the thirteenth Paralympic Games. The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games are scheduled to begin September 6 and will conclude on September 17. The Paralympics sporting events are designed for athletes from six different disability groups. The sporting events place emphasis on the athletic achievements of the participants.

Events being featured at the 2008 Paralympic Games include Archery, Athletics, Boccia, Cycling, Equestrian, Football 5-a-Side, Football 7-a-Side, Goalball, Judo, Powerlifting, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Volleyball Sitting, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Fencing, Wheelchair Rugby and Wheelchair Tennis.

The More Than Gold Sports Spectrum team is still in Beijing to bring you coverage of the 2008 Paralympic Summer Games.