Athletics at the 2008 Summer Paralympics were held in Beijing National Stadium from September 8 to September 17. There were 160 gold medals in this sport.
Classification.
Athletes are given a classification depending on the type and extent of their disability. The classification system allows athletes to compete against others with a similar level of function.
The athletics classifications are:
The class numbers are given prefixes of "T", "F" and "P" for track, field and pentathlon events, respectively.
Events.
For each of the events below, medals are contested for one or more of the above classifications.
Track events - Men.
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Track events - Women.
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Field events - Men.
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Field events - Women.
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Participating countries.
There were 1028 athletes (696 male, 332 female) from 111 countries taking part in the athletics competitions.
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Medal summary.
Medal table.
This ranking sorts countries by the number of gold medals earned by their athletes (in this context a nation is an entity represented by a National Paralympic Committee). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If, after the above, countries are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically.
Women's events.
† Diane Roy was initially awarded the gold, Shelly Woods the silver and Amanda McGrory the bronze in the women's 5000  m T54. However a re-run of the race was ordered by the International Paralympic Committee following protests by the Australian, US and Swiss teams after 6 competitors were involved in a crash on the penultimate lap. The re-run race resulted in the same three athletes winning medals but in a different order.
†† Rebecca Chin of Great Britain was originally awarded the silver medal in the women's discus throw F37-38 event. Following a challenge to her classification, Chin was deemed ineligible for the event, stripped of her medal, and her results were erased.
References.
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