2012 Paralympics Kick Off in London With the First Day of Action NBC News
go to original August 30, 2012

Forget everything you thought you knew about strength. Forget everything you thought you knew about humans. It's time to do battle. Meet the Superhumans.

The action of the London 2012 Paralympic Games got started on Thursday. According to the Associated Press, athletes will be competing in 20 different sports, including archery, cycling, wheelchair basketball and swimming.

NBC News reports:

The event was founded in 1948 to help rehabilitate injured British veterans returning from the Second World War, though many Americans remain unaware that it exists. (There's also a tendency to confuse it with the Special Olympics, which is unrelated.) Paralympic athletes compete despite impairments including amputations, blindness, cerebral palsy and mobility disabilities.

Arnulfo Castorena of Mexico competes in the Men's 50m Breaststroke - SB2 heat 1 on day 1 of the London 2012 Paralympic Games at Aquatics Centre on August 30, 2012 in London, England. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)



Members of the Italian team look on as Spain's Alejandro Zarzuela Beltran, right, attempts a shot during their preliminary men's group A wheelchair basketball match, Aug. 30. (Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images)



Natalia Partyka of Poland serves during her women's singles C10 table tennis classification match against Umran Ertis of Turkey Aug. 30. Partyka has won gold medals in both the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics, and she is also the only female athlete to compete in both the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. (Toby Melville/Reuters)



Tao Zheng of China celebrates winning the men's 100m backstroke final on Aug. 30. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)



Mostafa Shahbazi Yajlou of Iran competes during the men's group B goalball match between China and Iran on Aug. 30. (Scott Heavey/Getty Images)



Prostheses and crutches of athletes are seen at the Aquatics Center during the swimming competitions of the London 2012 Paralympic Games in London, Britain, Aug. 30. (Kerim Okten/EPA)



Jessica Long of the United States competes in the women's 100m butterfly - S8 heat 2 on Aug. 30. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!