Following the Olympics, I took the opportunity to also attend the Paralympics in Paris, in order to watch and celebrate the incredible paralympic athletes, and also better understand what the Paralympics as an event was all about. To be honest, although I had tuned into most previous Olympic games, I had not followed the Paralympics much at all (which I’m now a little ashamed of, but I think it’s perhaps a common story for other able-bodied sport enthusiasts). But, with my growing passion and connection to disability advocacy and promoting inclusivity in every part of life, sport and exercise absolutely included, I was incredibly excited to be there for the Paralympic games in Paris, and soak up all I could from my first Paralympics experience. I watched the opening ceremony from one of the public viewing areas with a big screen at a park near the city center, a bit puzzled by the enigmatic modern dance routine, but inspired by the speeches voicing the values of equality, respect, and freedom for everyone that lay at the heart of the Paralympics, and with that the games began.
For the first weekend of the games, a good friend came to visit in Paris, and we watched the first few events together. The first event was para swimming, where athletes across a diverse array of disabilities displayed incredible swimming skill. In para swimming, there are no prostheses allowed, and many of the athletes had limb loss, sometimes even amputations of both arms. The swimmers without arms had incredible kicking power, and I was impressed with their techniques to lift their heads to breath without the strokes of the arms. We also watched races of swimmers with different classifications of visual impairment, who were accompanied by a guide at each end of the pool who would tap their heads with a pole just before the wall which gave them the signal when to initiate a turn.
Pictures from inside Le Defense arena watching the para swimming
The following day we watched wheelchair tennis at Roland Garros Stadium. Wheelchair tennis works the same as its Olympic counterpart, although the ball is allowed to bounce twice before it is returned. The athletes whizzed their wheelchairs back and forth across the clay court, perfectly positioning themselves to smash another volley back across the net. The doubles game we watched was especially interesting, partly because the USA was playing, but also because of the tactics of the two players and how they positioned themselves, and the fast-pace of the rallies.
Wheelchair tennis doubles action
Next day, we had tickets for the para track and field in the evening, and we took the morning to explore the Club France, an exposition space set up by the French Paralympic and Athletic associations to promote various Paralympic sports and other elements of the Paralympics. They had areas to try out wheelchair basketball as well as para climbing, but my friend and I, both having studied biomechanics, went straight for the Ottobock booth, where we got to try out walking with custom boots that had different kinds of prosthetic feet. We both chose the prostheses designed for running, and, while the first few steps were wobbly, I eventually gained my footing and was impressed with how bouncy they felt and the energy return you got with every step, but how stable they were at the same time, compensating for different bumps or changes in gradient of the floor. It was a fascinating experience to get even just a small sense of how it could feel to use such a prosthetic during a race or in everyday life, and it gave me more appreciation for the synchrony of athleticism and engineering that underlies many para sports. That evening we watched a variety of events in para track and field, which has the most events and most athletes of all the Paralympic disciplines, and provides avenues for all different athletes with different kinds of disabilities to compete in various racing, jumping, or throwing events. Especially the blind running was a standout from the evening, as it was interesting to watch the athletes sprint all out on the track alongside their sighted guides.
Testing the Ottobock prostheses boots
From inside the Stade de France watching para track and field
Then it was time to say goodbye to my friend, and my solo Paralympics experience began. My first solo event was watching the wheelchair rugby gold medal match between USA and Japan. Wheelchair rugby is a pretty brutal sport, with its nickname of “murder ball”, and the athletes truly slam into each other, often breaking off wheels of the opponent’s chair or even flipping each other over completely. It’s also a very fast-paced, entertaining, and offensively-driven game, which rewards the team able to achieve the difficult task of preventing the other from crossing their goal line with the ball, by blocking and bullying them or somehow knocking the ball from their possession. It was a really fun night watching the finals, although a little tragic for myself as the USA team fell apart in the third and fourth quarters of the game, and Japan took full advantage, deservedly taking home the gold. I also stayed for the medal ceremony, which moved me seeing how the athletes with disabilities were celebrated by the full crowd, and how much the medals meant to the athletes after all their hard work, training, and dedication to get to the games and win their hard-earned medals.
Powerful slams and delicate wheelchair control in wheelchair rugby
I had one break day, then continued with an all-day Paralympics Discovery pass (a very cool ticketing option that gave the opportunity to attend multiple Paralympics events in a day), which comprised para-archery and wheelchair fencing. I bounced a bit between the events, beginning at para-archery. I had watched the highlights on TV of the men’s compound bow finals, with Matt Stutzman, the American arm-less archer, taking home the gold after countless dramatic matches and shoot-offs, and broke the paralympic record, only missing a single point across fifteen rounds of shooting, using his truly incredible shooting technique with his foot to hold the bow and chin to fire the shot. So, I was very excited going into my own live para-archery experience, watching the men’s recurve bow finals. I was immediately won over watching Australia’s Tayman Kenton-Smith, and his bombastic personality and calls for cheers from the crowd, who used a specially designed grip to hold the bow, as he is missing one of his hands. All the French fans also cheered loudly for Guillame Toucoullet, who used a technique to hold the bow with one arm and pull back the arrow with his teeth, which was amazing to watch and truly a bad-ass pose when he stood with the arrow drawn before firing. I stayed until the archery semi-finals, then moved to the wheelchair fencing, which was held in the Grand Palais in central Paris. It was an epic venue, and felt perfectly fitting to hold these classic sword duels inside the impressive regal hall in front of a cheering crowd. I was able to watch the foil matches, where only the trunk area was a target for strikes of the point of the weapon. It took me a while to understand the rules, but once I got what was going on, it was exhilarating to watch, with intense back-and-forth battles and tactical parries until someone eventually landed the decisive strike. Wheelchair fencing is especially thrilling, as the athletes are fixed in place, and can’t backpedal or escape the melee, making for fast-paced and tense duels.
Scenes from the para archery and Guillame’s impressive shooting technique
Wheelchair fencing in the Grand Palais, featuring dramatic duels
Next up was another discovery pass, this time at boccia, para table tennis, and goalball. I began at the BC4 classification mixed teams boccia bronze medal game, where all the athletes used a wheelchair, but had enough function in their arms and upper body to throw the ball themselves. Boccia is one of the only sports in the Paralympics without an Olympic counterpart, and it is a game all about precision and tactics, with athletes trying to throw or roll their balls as close as possible to a small white target ball called the ‘jack.’ I was excited for boccia, because it is one of the Paralympic sports especially accessible for athletes with more severe impairments to still compete and participate in the sport. I thought the BC4 bronze medal game was gripping, with impressive throws and clever tactical plays to knock other players balls or even the jack, which could completely change the round. I then moved to para table tennis, with its devilishly fast-paced rallies and wild curved and spin shots across the tables. There was one especially interesting match between an athlete from the USA with short stature against an Italian athlete. Often, the American player had to connect his racket to a longer stick in order to extend his reach and still hit the ball in positions that were hard for him to reach, but even with this added complexity, his technique and ability to return the ball was incredible. I then moved to the Men’s and Women’s Goalball finals, the other Paralympic sport without an Olympic counterpart. Goalball is a fascinating sport, originally developed for the blind and visually impaired, played on a court with large goals on either side, teams of three players throw the ball, filled with small bells, towards the opposing goal, and the other team then attempts to block the ball by throwing their bodies in the way, guided only by their hearing and the sound of the jingling ball as it bounces across the court. All players have some form of visual impairment, but everyone wears full blackout eye masks to ensure everyone cannot see at all during play. Watching Goalball is also a fascinating spectator experience, as fans need to be completely silent during play in order to allow players to hear the ball, and only cheer when a goal is scored. The men’s final, against Japan and Ukraine, was especially entertaining going into a golden goal overtime, with each team hurling the ball hard at the opposing net, and the defenders heroically diving to block the shot with any part of their bodies they could. Japan eventually took the gold with a late winning shot in overtime. Finally, I returned to the boccia court to watch the BC3 mixed pairs gold medal game. BC3 was the classification group of athletes with the most severe physical disabilities, with all the athletes using an electric wheelchair. The game was played using ramps in order to roll the ball into the playing field, with the athletes instructing a personal assistant in the game exactly how to position the ramp prior to their roll, adjusting the tilt, angle, how high the ball was rolled from, etc. The assistant was not allowed to watch the game at all, ensuring all decisions related to how the ball was rolled into play were fully dictated by the athlete. Once the athlete was happy with the ramp position, they used any way they could for themselves to roll the ball down the ramp, like a small movement of their hand, a tap with their head, or even a stick held in their mouth to push the ball. BC3 boccia was not about athleticism, but all about skill and tactics, and I was captivated. Their perfect positioning of the ramp to roll the ball into a perfect position or knock their opponent’s balls out of position, and the drama with how the game could change in an instant with each new roll. Hong Kong took the gold medal after a hard-fought game, and the joy on the athletes’ faces when they won was beautiful.
Impressive rallies in para table tennis
Shots and saves in goalball
I’m now a big fan of Paralympic boccia!
The following evening, I attended the para track and field again, with many impressive displays by amputee sprinters with advanced prostheses, guided blind sprinting, javelin throw, and sprinting in racing wheelchairs. The 4×100 universal relay was especially a highlight. The only relay event in para track and field, it involved a mixed team of 2 men and 2 women each with different forms of disability all competing together on the track. The race begins with an athlete with a visual impairment (often accompanied by a guide during the run), followed by an amputee sprinter, then an athlete with Cerebral Palsy or a coordination disability, and finally finishing with a wheelchair racer. The relay is a symbol of Paralympism, of equality, and inclusivity of all abilities, and it was a rousing event to watch the four athletes with different types of disabilities compete as one team. Team USA had won and set the world record for the event at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, but this time around it was China who took the gold, and beat out USA’s previous world record in the process.
Para track and field excitement inside the Stade de France
Then came my final day at the Paralympics. It began with a fascinating tour of the Ottobock repair workshop, which the company has had as a collaboration with the Paralympics since the 1988 games in Seoul. The workshop was set up within the Paralympic village, and was a space where every athlete, regardless of which country they represented or what brand of device they used, could get their equipment, especially wheelchairs and prostheses, repaired and maintained, or even fully replaced if needed. It was a really impressive operation, coordinating the work of various technicians, from orthotists and prosthetists, to wheelchair technicians, welders, sewers, and even 3D printing experts. The team needed an adaptable, problem-solving mindset, as they often encountered repairs they had never seen before, with equipment they had never worked on before. They repaired equipment both for sports and competition, as well as those used in everyday life. My tour guide Andrea pointed out an orthosis from an athlete from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was being worked on by three different technicians, trying to repair the sewing work and get the complex metal and fabric construction stabilizing the legs back functioning. And all of the repairs and maintenance work is done completely for free. I think it’s really an amazing initiative, ensuring the Paralympians can focus on the competition and not worry if their equipment has any issues or needs repairs, and also acts as an admirable way to provide high-quality technical work, and in some cases even brand new adapted sport or everyday mobility equipment, for athletes from lower income countries, who may struggle to get such technical service or equipment in their home countries, really improving equity and access to para sport and general well-being for people with disabilities from around the world who come for the Paralympics.
The Ottobock repair workshop: such an amazing initiative!
Finally, my Paralympics experience culminated with the bronze and gold medal games of blind football/soccer (or “ceci-foot” in French). And wow, what a finish! To start, the venue was truly incredible, the Eiffel Tower stadium, which had an incredible view onto the tower. It felt like a perfect finale to my time in Paris at the stadium next to such an iconic Parisian monument. The bronze medal game was against Brazil and Colombia. Blind football, like Goalball, is a sport designed for those with visual impairment, and again all players wear a blackout eye mask, and the ball is filled with bells, ringing as it is passed, dribbled, or shot around the field. The game is played five against five, with four outfield players, all with visual impairment and wearing eye masks, and one sighted or partially-sighted goalkeeper. There are also walls on each side of the field, preventing the ball from going out, and ensuring more constant playing action, and players are assisted by three guides during play, their goalkeeper, their coach at mid-field, and an attacking guide sitting behind their opponent’s goal. I was so impressed at the players’ ball control and precise passing ability to teammates they couldn’t see, as well as the determined defensive plays, all relying on the sound of the ball and the communication from their teammates and guides. Brazil, the titans of blind football, and reigning Paralympic champions, settled this Paralympics with a bronze medal. Then came the gold medal game, and with impressive performances throughout the tournament, the home team of France had clinched a spot in the final, battling Argentina for the gold. French supporters showed out in force to support their team, and the entire stadium was filled with French fans waving blue, white, and red striped flags. I was also really excited France had made it to the finals, and I thought my more than a month long stay in Paris at that point gave me a good reason to support the French team that night. “Allez les Bleus!” Again, the spectators needed to be completely silent during play to let the players hear the ball and all necessary communication, which made for a tense and dramatic atmosphere. The French team scored with an impressive run and shot before the end of the first half, and the crowd went wild. But, Argentina came straight back, scoring an equalizer right from the following kick-off after the French goal. The game stayed even to the end, leading to a penalty kick shoot-out. Penalty kicks were also fascinating, with the attacking guide first tapping the goal posts on either side, then shouting once from behind the middle of the goal. And the athlete’s shooting precision based solely on these sound cues was amazing. On Argentina’s fourth kick, the French keeper managed to save it, and the fate of the match fell to France’s captain and final kicker, Frederick Villeroux, who had been a superstar throughout the match and the whole tournament. The crowd went completely silent as he stepped up… and then he buried the shot in the bottom corner, and the crowd erupted! It was a perfect storybook ending: France making it to the final, goes to a PK shootout, and their star captain scores the winning penalty. That moment of total silence and anticipation before the shot, and then the deafening, joyous explosion of cheers and applause from everyone in the crowd, all with a magical view of the Eiffel Tower shining in the late evening… It was a sporting moment I’ll never forget, and I was so grateful I was there for it. After the game I stayed for a while to soak it all in, and watch the emotional medal ceremony, with the whole stadium singing along to the French anthem when the flag was raised. Thank you so much to the Paralympics and Paris for such a powerful and honestly life-changing experience I had through the games!
The incredible Eiffel Tower stadium!
The storybook final PK and absolute elation from the crowd!
Fundamentally, my experience at the Paralympics made me reflect on why we do sports, and what especially professional and elite-level sport is truly for. When you think about it, it’s silly that we put so much time, passion, and energy into kicking a ball back and forth across a field, or hitting a ball back and forth over a net, racing against each other underwater, or on a round track, or shooting arrows at targets, or poking each other with pointy electrified sabers. But that’s the thing, sport isn’t really about the task itself, but about all those things that are connected to it. It’s about the health and well-being benefits that come from movement. It’s about the community that’s built around a shared passion for the sport. It’s about sports being fun. And it’s about that feeling, after all the time spent practicing and improving, sometimes failing and sometimes succeeding, when you score the winning shot, or take the winning point, or win the final race. Sport is about values, those of determination and persistence, pushing oneself and growing through competition with yourself and others, teamwork and building comradery and community, with everyone valued for the role they play, sportsmanship and respect, and showing grace even when you lose, and finding joy in doing something you love and excel at. Professional sports, I think in a lot of ways, are about using sports as a vessel for championing these values, and inspiring others. And this was for me the most powerful part of the Paralympics. By turning the spotlight onto people with disabilities and the para athletes, it changes the perception of people with disabilities away from being people that need help or pity or are looked down upon in any way, and instead to people with disabilities also being champions and role models and people to look up to, not just for others with disabilities, but for everyone. In fact, para athletes may champion these positive values of sport to an even greater extent, showing depths of resilience, strength in character, and belief in oneself through all of the challenges that come with being a person with disabilities in today’s world, and still making it to the games and showing the world their incredible talent and skill in their sport. The Paralympics sensitizes everyone to disability, and shows how the Paralympians are role models, breaking down ableism, and putting everyone on a more equal playing field. At the core, the Paralympics showed me that sport, and all of the positive values and power that it has, is for everyone!
Please consider donating to my new fundraiser for Achilles International, and support the work to make sport and exercise accessible and inclusive for everyone! Find the fundraiser link here: https://give.achillesinternational.org/campaign/600125/donate
*And if you’re interested, check out the Paralympics YouTube channel, which has the highlights from all the Paralympic sports I mentioned and many others. If you weren’t able to watch much of the Paralympics this time around, I would really recommend checking out some of the highlights. I’m sure you’ll be impressed and entertained, and will want to tune in next time! Find their YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@paralympics