Who was Ludwig Guttmann?
The late Sir Ludwig Guttmann was the founder of WheelPower and sport for the disabled. Guttmann, a German Neurologist, set up the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the late 1940’s and introduced sport as part of the rehabilitation of his patients. In 1948 he organized the first national competition to coincide with the London Olympic Games and in 1952 the first international events were organised at Stoke Mandeville. In 1960 the first Paralympic Games were held in Rome and the Pope called Guttmann “the de Cubertan of the Paralysed” Guttmann once said “If I ever did one good thing in my medical career it was to introduce sport into the rehabilitation of people with disabilities” The work Guttmann started has now developed into a Paralympic Movement worldwide and he is acknowledged as the father of the Paralympics and sport for the disabled.
