By Victor Kanayo
Intense action has signaled full dose of outing in the formal kick-off of the 2024 Paralympic Games taking place in Paris, France.
Already, athletes from Nigeria and other parts of the world are battling for medals in available sporting events.
Medals’ Prospects On Day One Action
Heritage Times HT reports that on Thursday August 29, four Sports will produce medals as the 11 days of competition meant for the physically challenged.
They are track cycling, swimming, table tennis and taekwondo.
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However, there other sporting events which are taking place as well.
They are sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, badminton, archery, goalball – a form of football for the visually impaired and boccia – a version of bowls.
Opening Event Like No Other
Late Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Games open during a ceremony in a balmy Place de la Concorde in central Paris — the first time a Paralympic opening ceremony has taken place away from the main stadium.
He was joined by International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons who said he hoped the Paris Paralympics would start an “inclusion revolution” beyond the field of sport.
“The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will show what persons with disabilities can achieve at the highest level when the barriers to succeed are removed,” he said in a speech.
“The fact these opportunities largely exist only in sport in the year 2024 is shocking. It is proof we can and must do more to advance disability inclusion — whether on the field of play, in the classroom, concert hall or in the boardroom,” he said.
The 4,400 competitors from 168 delegations paraded into the arena as the sun set with host nation France entering last to a standing ovation from 30,000 spectators.
The fine weather was in sharp contrast to the heavy rain which fell throughout the Olympics opening ceremony on July 26.
Against the backdrop of a setting sun, thousands of athletes paraded down the famed Champs-Elysées avenue to Place de la Concorde in central Paris.
Venues And Ticket Sales Updates
Of the 35 Olympic venues, 18 will be used for the Paralympics including the ornate Grand Palais and the Stade de France.
Ticket sales had been sluggish for the Paralympics, which run until September 8, but they have accelerated since the Olympics and organisers say more than two million of the 2.5 million available have been sold, with several venues sold out.
The Games featuring physical, visual and intellectual impairments will compete in 22 sports between Thursday August 28 and September 8, 2024.
