Ethiopia competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016.

Background Ethiopian Paralympians had difficulty getting internal funding for their Paralympic efforts. Their national federation provided no money for equipment, and in the lead up to the Rio Games, most trained barefoot.

Disability classifications

Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories; amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis. Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Some sports, such as athletics, divide athletes by both the category and severity of their disabilities, other sports, for example swimming, group competitors from different categories together, the only separation being based on the severity of the disability.

Medallists Ethiopia finished tied for ninth among African countries for total gold medals, winning one silver. Uganda and the Ivory Coast also won a single silver medal. Medal Name Sport Event Date Tamiru Demisse Athletics Men's 1500 m T12-13

Athletics One of the members of the Ethiopian delegation was Tamiru Demisse, who won silver in the 1,500 meters. Demisse hoped that following the Rio Games, one day he could represent the United States or Canada at the Paralympics. Men's Track AthleteEventsHeatSemifinalFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankMegersa Bati400 m T1251.394did not advanceTamiru Demisse400 m T13did not startcolspan="2" did not advance1500 m T12-13colspan="4" 3:48.49Astbha Gebremeskel1500 m T45-46colspan="4" 4:15.019Hailu Hailecolspan="4" 4:06.376

Women's Track AthleteEventsHeatFinalTimeRankTimeRankYengus Azenaw200 m T45-47Disqualifieddid not advance400 m T45-47Disqualifieddid not advance

See also Ethiopia at the 2016 Summer Olympics

References