Paralympic Games stripped after his positive drug test. At the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, Swedish curler Glenn Ikonen tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended for six months by the IPC. He was removed from the rest of the curling competition but his team was allowed to continue. The 54-year-old curler said his doctor had prescribed a medication on the banned substances list. Another concern now facing Paralympic officials is the technique of "boosting". Athletes can artificially increase their blood pressure, often by self-harming, which has been shown to improve performance by up to 15%. This is most effective
Summer Paralympic Games France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States. The United States have been the top-ranking nation for eight of the Paralympic Summer Games: 1964, 1968, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996. China have been the top-ranking nation for the four most recent Games, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. Italy (1960), West Germany (1972) and Australia (2000) have been the top-ranking nation one time each. Qualification rules for each of the Paralympic sports are set by the International Federation (IF) that governs that sport's international competition. The first official Paralympic Games, was held in Rome, Italy, in 1960.