The 2024 Paris Paralympics kicked off on Wednesday, with swimming, wheelchair basketball, dancing Phrygian Caps, and more taking center stage this week.
With 549 medal events spanning 22 sports, a record 4,400 athletes from 168 delegations, plus the most women’s sports athletes and events in competition history, this year’s Paralympics are capping off an exceptional summer of international sports.
How the Paralympics work
An international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, the Paralympics operates separately from the Olympic Games despite sharing a host country as well as most venues. Some sports — like swimming, track, basketball, and volleyball — have direct Olympic counterparts, while other sports like boccia and goalball are unique to the Paralympics.
According to the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, para-sport athletes must have at least one of these 10 eligible underlying conditions to qualify for the Games: impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment, or intellectual impairment.
Athletes then square off in different classifications based on the type of disability they have — visual, physical, or intellectual — as well as how much their disability impacts their ability to compete in the event.
Swimmers start Team USA’s medal haul
The US earned their first three medals on Thursday — all silver and all in women’s swimming. Ellie Marks earned her silver in the 50-meter freestyle S6, Christie Raleigh-Crossley took silver in the 50-meter freestyle S10, and Grace Nuhfer took silver in the 100-meter butterfly S13.
On Friday, Team USA Paralympic swimmer Gia Pergolini won gold in the 100-meter backstroke S13 race, claiming first place ahead of Ireland’s Róisín Ní Ríain and Italy’s Carlotta Gilli. Also on Friday, Ellie Marks medaled again, capturing silver in this morning’s 200-meter individual medley SM6.
Also making history this week was wheelchair rugby player Sarah Adam, who became the first woman Paralympian to compete for Team USA in the sport.
Masters, Long lead Team USA at the Paris Paralympics
US Paralympic legend Oksana Masters returned for the Paris Games, carrying the torch in Wednesday’s Opening Ceremony. Next week, she’ll hit the pavement in the H5 Road Race and H4-5 Individual Time Trial para cycling events.
With 29 Paralympic medals to her name, decorated Team USA swimmer Jessica Long is also back at this year’s Games. She plans to compete in four events at this year’s Paralympics: Saturday’s 100-meter backstroke S8, Sunday’s 200-meter individual medley SM8, Wednesday’s 400-meter freestyle S8, and the following Saturday’s 100-meter butterfly S8.
Joining them in Paris is Rio Paralympic gold medalist and Team USA’s lead scorer in wheelchair basketball that year, Becca Murray, who came out of retirement to help her squad better their Tokyo bronze medal performance. Her team beat Germany 73-44 in group stage play earlier today.
Another Tokyo standout, Katie Holloway Bridge, will attempt to guide the US sitting volleyball team to a third-straight Paralympic gold after earning tournament MVP in the 2021 Games. Team USA sitting volleyball fell to China 3-1 today in their first pool stage match.
