People with disabilities do not have equal opportunities to participate in sports compared to mainstreamathletes. To counteract this, the last few decades have seen growing efforts to mainstreamparasports. This study investigated how underlying ableist norms shape opportunities and conditionsfor people with disabilities in the context of mainstreaming within Swedish sports. Themethod of data collection was 19 semi-structured interviews with para-athletes and parents (9women and 10 men). After theory- and data-driven coding, ableism was applied as a conceptuallens. Findings show that the inherent comparative logic within sports triggers ableist manifestationsand creates exclusionary practices towards para-athletes. For example, able-bodied idealsare internalized by para-athletes, influencing the way they perceive and value their athleticism.Conclusively, although comparisons of performance are an inextricable part of sports, the studyhighlights how mainstreaming contributes to emphasizing differences, thereby reinforcing ableistnorms and limiting opportunities for para-athletes.