system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How are athletes with different disabilities sorted to compete against each other for the Paralympics?
gpt
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) publishes a handbook that establishes the different levels of disability. There are a ton of categories. Swimming, for instance, has 15 different categories, ranging from S1 "very severe coordination problems in four limbs or have no use of their legs, trunk, hands and minimal use of their shoulders only," up to S15 which is for athletes who have hearing loss (but have full function of their limbs)

Athletes are classified by their country's Paralympic body as per the IPC regulations.