Around 4,400 athletes from 184 nations participated in the 17th edition of the Paralympics, with several records broken and many memorable moments.
ADVERTISEMENTThe 2024 Paris Paralympics wrapped up an unforgettable summer of sports with an exciting two weeks of competitions and records broken till the very last day of the Games.
Italian athlete proposes to girlfriend after race
Italy’s Alessandro Ossola asked her girlfriend, Arianna Mandradoni, to marry him after competing in the men’s 100 m T63 in front of 40,000 people at the Stade France. « You’re crazy! », she first exclaimed, but then said the much-awaited « Yes! ».
« Sometimes she believed in me more than I believed in myself, and that’s something truly amazing. ‘You can do it, you can succeed, you can, you can,’ she would say. This is something everyone needs, and I hope that everyone finds someone like her. She is my partner … for life. », Ossola said about his to-be wife.
Shark-attack survivor wins two silver medals in swimming
Ali Truwit and a friend were snorkelling in the ocean off the British Overseas territory of Turks and Caicos in 2023 when a shark charged and bit Truwit’s lower left leg. Truwit raced almost 70 metres toward the boat before being rushed to hospital and airlifted to the US, where she had three surgeries, including one to amputate her leg below.
She reclaimed her love for water by starting away again in the family’s backyard pool, where she fought off fear and took back control, starting a new journey that took her to the Paris Paralympics, winning two Paralympic silver medals and breaking two American records in just 48 hours.
“I love comeback stories,” said the 24-year-old from Darien, Connecticut. “I’ve definitely relied on other people’s comeback stories to help me hold on to what feels like a bold and unrealistic hope – of fighting off a shark and surviving and losing a limb and making the Paralympics all in a year.”
Her mantra during the recovery? « Work works ».
Morocco’s El Idrissi smashes marathon record on last day
Morocco’s Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi smashed the world record in the women’s marathon for runners with visual impairments on the last day of the Paralympic Games.
The 29-year-old athletes finished in 02 hours, 48 minutes and 36 seconds on Sunday, beating the previous record from Japan’s Misato Michishita in Hofu City in December 2020 by nearly 6 minutes.
Compatriot Meryem En-Nourhi was just over 9 minutes behind, followed by Elena Congost of Spain, with Michishita fourth, almost 15 minutes behind the winner.
Tunisia’s Wajdi Boukhili won the men’s T12 marathon.
Youngest-ever Paralympic men’s singles champion
Japan’s Tokito Oda became the youngest-ever athlete to win a men’s singles when he claimed the Paralympic wheelchair tennis title after beating Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
“After I saved his match point, I told myself, ‘I should win, I can win’. », he said « After that, I started playing really well. I just played my style.”
The 18-year-old had already won two Grand Slam titles in 2024, and is now the youngest ever Paralympic wheelchair tennis men’s singles champion.
France breaks football medal drought in front of Eiffel Tower
What better setting to take sweet revenge and clinch a football gold?
ADVERTISEMENTThe French men’s blind football won the final against Argentina, the same nation France lost the FIFA World Cup Final to in 2022. This time around the hosts defeated Argentina 3-2 on penalties under the lights of the Eiffel Tower.
Frederic Villeroux, who scored the decisive shootout, said it « felt like the script of a film ».
France also became the first team other than Brazil to win blind football at a Paralympics.
Wheelchair racer wins gold whilst wife is on commentary
Another Paralympics love story. Canadian wheelchair racer Brent Lakatos won gold in the men’s T53 800 metres while his wife, paralympian Stefanie Reid, was on commentary.
ADVERTISEMENT“I just commentated on my husband winning a gold medal at the Paralympics,” she wrote on social media.
In Paris, Lakatos scooped his 13th medal in his sixth Paralympic Games, and second gold after his first one at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
His wife Reid won silver medals in long jump at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics.
First medal ever for Refugee Paralympic team
Afghanistan-born Zakia Khudaddu, the first Afghan female taekwondo athlete, made history in Paris by winning the first-ever medal at the Paralympics for the Refugee Team.
ADVERTISEMENTKhudadadi won bronze in the women’s 47kg category after defeating Turkey’s Ekinci Nurcihan. When the final buzzer sounded at the Grand Palais in central Paris, Khudadadi erupted in joy, throwing her helmet and mouthpiece into the air.
“It was a surreal moment, my heart started racing when I realised I had won the bronze,” Khudadadi said, her voice shaking with emotion. “I went through so much to get here. This medal is for all the women of Afghanistan and all the refugees of the world. I hope that one day there will be peace in my country.”
US win third consecutive men’s wheelchair basketball gold
After triumphing in the Olympics, America’s men’s basketball team asserted their dominance in the Paralympics too by winning their third consecutive gold.
Jake Williams scored 26 points in the victory 73-69 victory over Great Britain.
ADVERTISEMENTThat made it three out of three for the US in Games basketball after the men and women won thrilling finals against France at the Olympics last month, also at Bercy Arena.
Caroline Groot sets new standard in Paralympic cycling
The 27-year-old Dutch track cyclist not only won the very first gold of the 2024 Paris Paralympics, but also broke the world record in C5, finishing in 35.390 seconds, ahead of French cyclist Marie Patouillet and Canada’s Kate O’Brien.
C1 to C5 are para-cycling classifications for athletes with physical impairments that affect their legs, arms and/or trunk causing issues with functionality who can use a standard bicycle.
Soares da Silva breaks 29-year-old world record in 400m
Brazil’s Rayane Soares da Silva won the women’s 400m T13 final to break a record that’d been standing for 29 years.
ADVERTISEMENTShe finished in an incredible 53.55 on the Stade de France track, overriding the previous 54.56 set by USA’s Marla Runyan in LA in 1995.
Despite the amazing result, Soares said she wasn’t much surprised: « I was training for that », she stated. « My times for 400 and 200 metres were good in training. »
