2024 Paris Paralympic Games: From August 28 to September 8, the Paralympic Games will occur in Paris. Around 4,400 athletes with disabilities or permanent injuries are getting ready to compete on the stage that is known globally for its iconic monuments over a period of two weeks following the end of the Olympiad. It is expected to be an inspiring show of talent and endurance at its best.
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2024 Paris Paralympic Games: A Grand Setting for a Grand Event
The Host city for this significant occasion is Paris which is a city linked closely to culture and tradition. Many of the venues which hosted the Olympic Games will be used again during the Paralympics. A unique and historical opening ceremony will take place along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées ending at the Place de la Concorde. This is the first time ever in the history of the Paralympic Games that they are going to have their opening ceremony outside a stadium thereby showing how deeply rooted this event is with the city and its people.
An exciting twist would be that blind soccer now takes place in venues such as those near Eiffel Tower which acted as locations for beach volleyball during Olympics. For horses, equestrian events will still take place at the magnificent Château de Versailles while the Grand Palais will switch from fencing performed during Olympics to fencing done using wheelchairs.
2024 Paris Paralympic Games: A Showcase of Diverse Sports and Unyielding Spirit
For 11 days straight, 549 medal competitions in 22 sports would be held across which athletes will take part. Out of these sports, only two are not similar to any Olympic game but they are unique – goalball and boccia. In goalball, teams made up of blind or visually impaired players roll balls with bells on them into the opposite team’s net whereas boccia involves competing against other athletes by throwing or rolling leather balls closest to a small target ball known as a jack.
For this edition of the Paralympics, there are 10 new medal events that provide more chances for female athletes as well as those with high support needs. For its part, the president of the International Paralympic Committee Andrew Parsons said these games were symbolic and inclusive, describing Paris as giving the athletes “a gigantic hug.”
Athletes to Watch IN 2024 Paris Paralympic Games:
The LA 1984 Olympic Games are a platform for dramatic athletes and tales that are sometimes called remarkable. There is also an interesting cluster of event participants who will have various titles to defend. Man in the world champ and the first female Paralympian to win two medals in one Games, Avani Lekhara is set to defend her 10m air rifle (SH1) gold medal while American multi-sport star Oksana Masters seeks to increase her cabinet of seven gold medals plus 17 others she has collected so far from both summer and winter events.
Egyptian Sherif Osman hopes to capture his fourth gold medal, while Italian wheelchair fencer Bebe Vio – who lost both legs and forearms due to meningitis – targets a third Olympic title. Brazil’s female national football team remains unbeaten since its formation in 2004. Nevertheless, this time around France intends to dethrone them.
Meanwhile, other new characters are emerging like Valentina Petrillo, a visually impaired Italian sprinter, becoming the first transgender woman at the Paralympic Games. More stories include American swimmer Ali Truwit who competed after recovering from a shark attack last year; Czech teen David Kratochvil set new records for swimming backstroke with no sight after he lost his eyesight.
A Record-Breaking Paralympics
The Paris Paralympics that are scheduled for, could be one of the highest attended games ever, after only London 2012, with almost 2 million out of a total of 2.5 million available tickets already sold. The city has made great strides in improving accessibility for all people and this event is expected to have a lasting influence on it.
In case you cannot attend them in person, the event will be shown live on NBC’s cable television channels such as USA Network and CNBC as well as streamed on various platforms like Peacock and NBCOlympics.com among others.
Conclusion
When the athletes step onto the stage in Paris, the globe will not only follow them for the games, but also for their inspiring tales of how they have defeated obstacles. The 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris are meant to honour people’s abilities surrounded by one of the most attractive cities around. With every competition, contest and event, this competition will be a reminder to all that we are unbreakable people.
