How do sport classes like T38 or F13 work?

A sport class has a prefix and a number. The prefix T stands for track, marathon and jumping events, and F stands for field (throwing) events. Classes are divided by impairment type, indicated by the first digit, with the second digit describing the impairment. Classification is a two-step process: a medical review and an observation in competition.

After national classification you receive a sport class (for example T/F38, T/F13 or T/F20) and, for physical and vision impairments, a status: Confirmed (C), Review (R) or Fixed Review Date (FRD). Athletes who are provisionally or nationally classified appear in Athletics Canada's National Classification Database.

Sources: https://athletics.ca/get-involved/para-athletics/classification/ and https://athletics.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/National-Classification-Guidelines.pdf