Paris transformed as organizers prepare for Paralympics

PARIS

The Paralympics begin in Paris next week, putting on display the talents of remarkable athletes in a city still riding the wave of the highly successful Olympics.

A new generation of Paralympians will be joined by seasoned veterans competing in many of the same sensational venues in the centre of the French capital that hosted Olympic sports.

A total of 18 of the 35 Olympic venues will be used for the Paralympics from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8, including the Grand Palais which scored rave reviews for its hosting of the fencing and taekwondo.

The La Defense Arena is back as well, hosting the 141 gold-medal events in para-swimming, as is the Stade de France which hosts track and field.

The opening ceremony will take place at Place de la Concorde, which hosted skateboarding and other "urban" sports during the Olympics. Just as for the Olympics ceremony on the River Seine, the ceremony takes place away from the main stadium for the first time at a Paralympics.

Ticket sales were sluggish, with less than half of the tickets reportedly sold by the time the Olympics were in full swing, but they have sped up markedly since then and organisers say several venues are sold-out.

Every Games creates new stars, and this edition will be no exception, so look to American above-the-knee amputee sprinter/high jumper Ezra Frech, who at 19 has already attracted a burst of publicity about his journey to Paris.

More familiar names return too – British amputee sprinter Jonnie Peacock was one of the highest-profile athletes of London 2012 and dusted off his running blade last year to make a comeback in his bid to win a medal at a fourth consecutive Paralympics.

The Paralympics though always have a far wider message than simply sport and International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons told AFP earlier this year he hopes the Paris edition will restore the issues facing disabled people to the top of the list of global priorities.

Parsons believes the Games "will have a big impact in how people with disability are perceived around the world."

"This is one of the key expectations we have around Paris 2024; we believe that we need people with disability to be put back on the global agenda," the Brazilian said.

He argued that disability had fallen behind sexual and gender identity in recent years.

"We do believe people with disability have been left behind. There is very little debate about persons with disability."

Paralympic powerhouse China will send a strong squad – the Chinese dominated the medals table in Tokyo three years ago winning 96 golds. Britain were second with 41 golds.

Riding the wave of its Olympic team's success, host nation France will be aiming for a substantial upgrade on the 11 golds it won in 2021.

Ukraine, traditionally one of the top medal-winning nations at the Paralympics, will still send a team of 140 athletes spread over 17 sports despite the challenges they face in preparing as the war against Russian forces rages.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete under a neutral banner, without team colours, but will not be permitted to take part in the opening or closing ceremonies.

The Russian and Belarusian federations were both suspended following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 but their competitors are allowed to compete as neutrals providing they have not shown any support for the war.