Paralympic Games are full of surprises

The Olympic flame may have been extinguished, but London 2012 isn't over yet.

This week, the British capital will welcome the sporting world once again, as the Paralympic Games get underway with Wednesday's Opening Ceremony. Though these Games are a few days shorter — ending on September 9 — and do not always garner as much attention, they still represent a chance at glory for all the athletes involved.

With this in mind, we present five things you perhaps didn't know about the Paralympics.

1. The IOC (and its partners) are not in charge

Aside from running the initial Olympic bid process, where both the Olympic and Paralympic Games are awarded together to the same city, the International Olympic Committee isn't very involved with the Paralympics. In fact, it's the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) that runs the show. That means the iconic interlocking rings are nowhere to be found in London, having been replaced with the IPC's logo (above). Here at home, the COC also has nothing to do with the upcoming Games, as they have passed the torch over to the Canadian Paralympic Committee. There are even separate National and International Sport Federations for the Paralympic sports themselves. At the end of the day, it's a different event run by different people.

2. The meaning of 'Paralympic' might not be what you expect

Originally, the word Paralympic was a combination of paraplegic and Olympic. But given the presence of other groups of disabled athletes that now compete at the Games (including amputees, wheelchair athletes, visually-impared, the intellectually-disabled and those with cerebral palsy), the IPC states that the prefix refers to the greek preposition 'para,' meaning beside or alongside. In other words, the Paralympics are the Games which are held in parallel to the Olympic Games.

3. No one leads the Parade

Despite its influence on the Paralympic name, Greece does not enter first during the Parade of Nations as it does in the main Games, because they aren't the founders. That title belongs to Germany — after Dr. Ludwig Guttman, a neurologist who escaped Nazi Germany during the second World War, established the first athletic competition for disabled athletes alongside the Olympic Games at London 1948. But even though this event, known as the Stoke Mandeville Games, is considered the forerunner to the Paralympics, Germany does not march first. Neither does Italy for that matter, the host country of the first official Paralympic Games in 1960, as according to the tradition of the Pan American Games (where the original Pan Am host country, Argentina, always enters first). Instead, no one leads the parade, and all countries proceed alphabetically, with the host nation coming in last.

4. Paralympians cheat, too

Able-bodied athletes aren't the only ones trying to cheat their way to a medal.

Like the use of performance-enhancing drugs, Paralympians — especially those with spinal cord injuries — sometimes engage in a process called 'boosting,' in order to achieve better results. The athletes deliberately hurt their lower body without feeling any pain, such as breaking a toe, giving them an increase in blood pressure. The technique has become concerning enough that athletes are even tested for boosting if they have a high blood pressure following competition.

5. Swimmers rule the podium

Think Michael Phelps is the only American swimmer with the title of 'most decorated?'

Think again.

California native Trischa Zorn is also a champion in the pool, having won 46 Paralympic medals (32 of them gold), more than any other athlete. Impressively, Zorn reached those accomplishments after being born blind.

Having retired after Athens 2004, Zorn will be inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame during the London Games.