The Paris Summer Paralympics 2024, held from August 28 to September 8, 2024, will see over 4,400 athletes from around the world competing across 22 sports in France.
The first official Paralympics took place in 1960, originally called "The Stoke Mandeville Games," named after the hospital where the idea of sports for disabled athletes began.
Since 1988, both the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been hosted in the same city, sharing the same venues.
The prefix “para” in Paralympic means “alongside” in Greek, symbolizing that the Paralympic Games are held alongside the Olympic Games.
The Paralympic Games symbol features three waves known as "Agitos," meaning "I move" in Latin, representing motion and the spirit of the athletes.
Since the London 2012 Paralympics, guides (in para athletics and triathlon) and pilots (in para cycling and triathlon) also receive medals for their roles in supporting athletes.
In para swimming, athletes compete without the use of prostheses or any accessories.
Athletes with intellectual disabilities can compete in only three disciplines: para athletics, para swimming, and para table tennis.
In the long jump, visually impaired athletes use a guide who claps to help them orient and determine the direction for their jump.
In wheelchair racing, athletes use specialized chairs that enable speeds of up to 36 km/h.
Visually impaired athletes compete in para cycling using tandem bikes, with the guide at the front, called the “pilot,” steering and navigating.