What is the name of the three-wheel wheelchair competition in the Bird's Nest of the Paralympic Games? How does it turn during the competition?

Wheelchair racing

Wheelchair racing became a Paralympic event for the first time at the 1964 Tokyo Paralympic Games, and both male and female athletes could participate in the 60-meter race. Since then, wheelchair racing has become an exciting event in disability sports, and it has also increased public attention to wheelchair athletes.

The wheelchair racing event of the Paralympic Games has a strict grading system: according to the athlete's athletic ability and disability level, it is divided into four levels: T51, T52, T53, and T54. Among them, T54 level athletes are the level of disability. The lightest.

In wheelchair racing competitions, athletes must use a special wheelchair to compete on a track and field track. This special wheelchair is a racing wheelchair. The racing wheelchair must have at least two large wheels and one small wheel. , the maximum diameter of large wheels, including pneumatic tires, must not exceed 70 cm, and the maximum diameter of small wheels must not exceed 50 cm. In order to prevent the wheelchair from overturning, the rear two wheels of the racing wheelchair must be in a figure-eight shape. In addition, the main body of the wheelchair chair must be far from the ground The maximum height shall not exceed 50 cm. No mechanical devices or levers for propelling the wheelchair are allowed; the athlete can only rely on the athlete to drive the wheels or turn the rocker to move forward. Wheelchair racing athletes also need to wear safety helmets, special gloves, goggles, etc. during the competition. Before the start of the order, the tangent line of the outermost edge of the small wheel shall not exceed the inner edge of the starting line. When reaching the finish line, the watch shall be stopped with the tangent line of the outermost edge of the hub of the small wheel touching the inner edge of the finish line.

In wheelchair racing, compared with athletes with spinal cord injuries at other levels, T54 athletes have the least degree of disability. They can use their waist strength to drive their upper body, especially their arms, so their force distance on the wheelchair driving wheel is the longest, and their body's range of ups and downs is also the largest. The long force distance is conducive to athletes giving full play to their arms. The strength and wide range of body movements allow athletes to use the ups and downs of the body to obtain gravity acceleration and increase the force of the arms to drive the wheel downward. The long force distance and large movement range create favorable conditions for athletes to obtain greater speed, which also makes the T54 competition more tense, intense and more enjoyable to watch.

In wheelchair racing, in order to minimize the air resistance on the front of the body and move forward at the maximum speed, athletes often bury their heads at the same height as the chair, making the head, chest, and waist The hips are on a horizontal plane parallel to the ground. While keeping their heads down, in order to ensure that the direction of travel does not deviate from the prescribed track, after each rowing a certain distance, the athletes must raise their heads to identify the direction. After determining the direction, they quickly lower their heads and continue driving. Wheel forward.

Wheelchairs used for racing have an "eight"-shaped handle and can adjust the fixed turning angle. When an athlete turns a corner, he only needs to touch the handle lightly, and the front wheel of the wheelchair will automatically turn to the set angle. After passing the curve, he can touch the handle again, and the wheelchair can keep moving forward in a straight line. In order to save time, some excellent athletes can also control the wheelchair to turn by changing the power of their left and right hands to turn the wheelchair.