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After the glittering opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games on Wednesday evening, it’s time to get down to business.
The athletes, ready to compete, will wage a merciless battle on the various competition sites starting on Thursday, with the first medals expected in the afternoon. A total of 168 delegations are taking part in the 11 days of competition, running until September 8.
In addition to the title disciplines on Thursday, the day opened with the first para-badminton events. Archery, rugby, wheelchair basketball and table tennis are also on the agenda for Day 1. Spectators will also discover two purely Paralympic sports: goalball and boccia.
A Scouser in the Grandstand
With his sunglasses hanging over his shirt collar and a dazzling smile, Jürgen Klopp is comfortably seated in the grandstand. The former Liverpool coach is making the most of the end of August in the capital to attend the first events of the Paralympic Games. Klopp has come to support his friend Wojtek Czyz in badminton. The 44-year-old New Zealander, a former footballer, had his left leg amputated after a collision with a goalkeeper in September 2001, when he had just signed a contract with German club SC Fortuna Köln.
Para-triathlon Events on a Single Day
They were to be held in the Seine over two days. All events will now take place on Sunday. “The 11 medal sessions will now take place on September 1, instead of over two days, September 1 and 2,” reads a press release from the Paris 2024 organizing committee. The decision was finalized on Thursday morning in a meeting attended by the World Triathlon Federation and the authorities involved in carrying out water quality tests on the Seine.
“The decision to hold all the events on a single day was taken in view of the weather forecasts and in order to offer athletes and coaches as much certainty as possible,” say the organizers, who “continue to monitor water quality and current on a daily basis.”
During the Olympic Games, several triathlon and open-water swimming training sessions were canceled, and the men’s triathlon was postponed for a day due to unsuitable water for swimming. This was due to heavy rainfall.
Para-cycling: First Podium of the Games
The first podium finish in para-cycling will take place at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome in the afternoon, with the women’s 500m time trial in the C4-C5 category (athletes with amputations).
Para-taekwondo: Zakia Khudadadi on the Track
Under the glass roof of the Grand Palais, taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi in the under 47 kg class could win a first medal for the refugee delegation. The 25-year-old Afghan, who qualified for the quarter-finals on Thursday lunchtime, fled her country after the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and is now training in France.
The day of glory should also be for Brazil’s Gabrielzinho, who logically dominated his 100m backstroke S2 series in para-swimming. The 22-year-old swimmer, who suffers from phocomelia—a malformation caused by the arrested development of one or more limbs during pregnancy—is in search of a treble in Paris, after winning two gold medals and a silver at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Thrills and Chills at La Défense
The pool at Paris’s La Défense Arena was especially vocal from the very start of the heats for its French swimmers.
“It gives you chills,” commented Alex Portal, who heard the audience clamor for his name, before finishing second in the 100m butterfly S13 (visually impaired) behind Belarusian Ihar Boki, who will be the favorite on Thursday evening.
Arz Zahreddine, Sole Lebanese Representative
Lebanon will be represented at these Games by a single athlete, Arz Zahreddine (100m, T64). Zahreddine will take to the field on Sunday at 10:23 PM (Beirut time).
You can count on him to defend the colors of Lebanon. Fingers crossed.
