The way disability is understood and positioned by key stakeholders informs how policies are implemented in the development of pathways to sporting excellence of an athlete with a disability. In this paper, the authors seek to identify which sports policy factors and stakeholders influence the development of athletic career pathways in Paralympic sport (i.e., attraction, retention, competition, talent identification and development, elite, and retirement phases). Drawing from the theories of disability and the literature on elite sport policy, an interview protocol on policy dimensions and principles to support para-athletes’ development was created, and 32 key stakeholders from the Brazilian Paralympic sport context were interviewed. The data revealed that coaching provision and education as a policy factor and coaches with disability-specific knowledge as a stakeholder were perceived as most influential during all the phases of para-athletes’ careers. The classification system emerged as a parasport-specific factor that can facilitate or inhibit the development of para-athletes’ careers, influencing the implementation of policies. The authors suggest that understanding the concept of disability is notably essential when stakeholders have to think strategically and adapt management principles from able-bodied sporting contexts. Therefore, critically positioning disability within policy decision making can improve the thinking, action, and behaviour of policymakers, coaches, and sports managers, leading to the more efficient delivery of successful para-athletes’ careers.

关键利益相关者对残疾的理解和定位方式，可以指导制定残疾运动员的卓越运动途径时如何实施政策。在本文中，作者试图确定哪些体育政策因素和利益相关者会影响残奥会体育职业道路的发展（即吸引力，保留率，竞争，人才识别和发展，精英和退休阶段）。根据残疾理论和有关精英体育政策的文献，制定了有关支持残疾人运动员发展的政策维度和原则的访谈协议，并采访了来自巴西残奥会体育背景的32位主要利益相关者。数据显示，在运动员的职业生涯的所有阶段中，教练提供和教育是一项政策因素，而具有残疾知识的教练则是利益相关者。分类制度是作为一项特定于体育运动的因素出现的，它可以促进或抑制体育运动员职业发展，从而影响政策的实施。作者建议，当利益相关者必须从战略上考虑并从健全的体育环境中调整管理原则时，理解残疾的概念尤为重要。因此，将残疾问题严格地置于政策决策范围内可以改善决策者，教练和体育经理的思维，行动和行为，从而更有效地交付成功的运动员职业。