Paralympics 2024: When, who and how can you watch the games in Paris?

Looking for something to fill the Olympic void in your heart?

If so, you’ll be thrilled to hear that thousands of elite athletes from around the world have gathered in Paris to compete for medals in dozens of sports.

Yes, we are talking about the Paralympics.

The 2024 Paralympic Games begin on Wednesday with an outdoor opening ceremony and will last until September 8.

Organizers are already touting the race as an event for the record books, with the number of participating delegations and female athletes at an all-time high, as well as the number of broadcasters covering it around the world.

These are the first Summer Paralympics to be held in France and the first time since COVID-19 that spectators will be allowed to fill the stands.

It will be many storylines And Athletes to watch Over the course of the 12 days, it’s all about redemption missions, rivalries and power couples.

The stories we are following include: China, the dominated the last five Paralympicswants to continue his winning streak. An Italian sprinter is well on his way to becoming first transgender woman to compete in the Paralympics. And several highly decorated members of the US team – including some athletes with many years of experience – want to break new records.

Here you will learn what you need to know and how to follow the process.

What is the difference between the Olympic and Paralympic Games?

Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games are multi-sport events and have been held in the same year and in the same city since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and the 1992 Winter Olympics in France.

The competitions actually take place in tandem: The word “Paralympic” contains the Greek preposition “para”, which means “beside”.

However, there are some differences between the two organizations as they have their own governing bodies.

The modern Olympic Games began in the late 19th century, while the Paralympics grew up in a British hospital for veterans of World War II in 1948.

The Olympic Games typically involve non-disabled athletes, while the Paralympics involve athletes with disabilities.

There are 10 eligible impairment Types: eight physical (including limb weakness and reduced muscle strength), visual impairment and mental impairment. Athletes are divided into categories based on the “degree of activity limitation as a result of their impairments”.

The Special Olympics are a a completely different matter.

Which sports are part of the Paralympics?

Aitor Alcalde / Getty Images

/

Getty Images

Para athletes will compete for medals in 549 individual and team events across 22 sports.

Above all, two Paralympic sports have no Olympic equivalent: Goalball and Boccia.

The rest of the list includes sitting volleyball, wheelchair rugby, tennis, basketball and fencing, rowing, horse riding, swimming, para-triathlon and more.

In some sports – including para-athletics, para-triathlon and para-cycling – visually impaired athletes compete alongside a sighted “guide” or “pilot” (some of whom are Olympians themselves). Since 2012, the guides have also been awarded medals.

According to the Paris organizers, the sports with the most participants are para-athletics (1,135 athletes), para-swimming (608) and para-table tennis (281).

How many nations and athletes are participating?

Fiona Goodall / Getty Images for PNZ

/

Getty Images for PNZ

The International Paralympic Committee says, Record number of delegations are taking part in the Games this year (they said the same about the Games in Tokyo also in 2021).

The final number of participants has not yet been determined, but the organizers expect around 4,400 athletes from 168 delegations to attend in Paris.

This includes the National Paralympic Committees of 167 countriesan eight-person Paralympic Refugee Team and up to 96 neutral athletes – 88 from Russia and eight from Belarus. Athletes from these two countries will no longer be allowed to compete under their flag following Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In addition, three delegations will be represented at the Paralympics for the first time: Eritrea, Kiribati and Kosovo.

According to the organizers, the largest delegations are China (282 athletes), Brazil (255) and France (237).

They also say there will be a record 1,983 female competitors this year and more medal events – 235 – for women than ever before. The Paris Olympics have been hailed as “gender-equal”, although many say there are still Room for improvement.

Which Team USA names should you know?

Joe Scarnici / Getty Images for USOPC

/

Getty Images for USOPC

The USA is sending 225 athletes – including five guides – to Paris, an equal number of men and women.

The para-athletes on Team USA come from 38 states (California, Illinois and Texas are strongly represented) and are between 15 and 52 years old.

Wheelchair basketball legend Steve Serio and sitting volleyball star Nicky Nieves were named as the Flag bearer of the team for the opening ceremony. Here are some other Names to keep an eye on:

• Multi-season athletes Oksana Master (Para-cycling and Para-Nordic skiing), Aaron Pike (Para-athletics and Para-cross-country skiing) and Kendall Gretsch (Para-Triathlon and Para-Cross-Country Skiing) are relatively fresh from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where the Masters will be Most successful US Winter Paralympics participant any times.
• swimmer Jessica Lang is the second most decorated U.S. Paralympian of all time, having won 29 Paralympic medals (including 16 gold), and will look to continue her winning streak in Paris, her sixth Games.
• Athletics stars Tatyana McFadden, Roderick TownsendAnd Brittni Mason aim to get back on the medal podium, which they achieved in Tokyo.
• Chuck Aoki has supported the men’s wheelchair basketball team for nearly a decade. They are considered favorites to win another medal this year, which would be their fourth since 2012.
• Sarah Adam is about to first woman to Team USA in wheelchair rugby at the Paralympics
• swimmer Abbas Karimiwho was born in Afghanistan, will compete in his first Paralympic Games as a US citizen. He took part in the refugee team in Tokyo 2020.
• This sprinter’s world record Nick Mayhugh The goals he set in Tokyo remain the same in Paris, where he will once again aim for gold. He will also compete in the long jump.
• Athlete Hunter Woodhall rose to prominence at the Olympics supporting his wife, gold medalist long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall. Woodhall, who runs with two prosthetic limbs, will be in the spotlight himself when he competes in the 100-meter dash and the 400-meter dash. (Psst: The Woodhalls are not the only ones Paralympic power couple this year.)

How (and when) can I watch?

Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP via Getty Images

/

AFP via Getty Images

The Paralympics Opening Ceremony will take place on Wednesday from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on the USA Network and streamed on the Peacock and NBC Olympics platforms. according to NBCNBC will also air an encore on Friday from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET.

Like the Olympic opening ceremony, this will be the first Paralympic opening ceremony to take place outside a stadium. The ceremony will be presided over by Thomas Jolly – who also oversaw last month’s events – and the parade will make its way down the Seine from the Champs-Elysees to the Place de la Concorde.

The Paralympics traditionally receive less coverage and viewership than the Olympics, but organizers are working to change that. They say Record number of channels will cover these Games, with media rights holders represented in over 160 countries and territories.

Paris is also the first Paralympic year to have at least one live broadcast of each of the 22 sports. For those curious, swimming, cycling and men’s wheelchair basketball start on Thursday, while athletics starts on Friday. You can watch the The complete competition schedule can be found here.

NBC says it will stream around 1,500 hours of live coverage — the most ever at a Paralympics — on Peacock over the course of nearly two weeks (remember, Paris is six hours ahead of ET). Authenticated users can also watch via NBCParalympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC Sports app and the NBC app.

Starting Thursday, USA Network will also offer at least nine hours of programming per day in the morning and afternoon, with a focus on the “most popular” events.

NBC also plans three separate prime-time windows. Friday will show highlights of the opening ceremony and recap the first two days of competition. Sunday at 7 p.m. ET will recap the two days after that. The final broadcast, scheduled for Friday, Sept. 6 at 9 p.m. ET, will recap the entire second week.

The closing ceremony will take place two days later on Sunday, September 8th at 2:00 p.m. ET.

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan are coming soon – but don’t worry, there are still many exciting competitions to tide you over until then.

Copyright: NPR