Every four years, the Olympic Games captivate the world, celebrating athletic excellence and cultural unity. This iconic event represents perseverance, global connection, and the pursuit of greatness, highlighting the remarkable talents of athletes from around the globe. Yet, amid the excitement for the Olympics, one event of equal remarkability is often overlooked: the Paralympic Games. The Paralympics showcase the extraordinary abilities of athletes with disabilities.
This year, the Paralympics reached its all-time viewership, with over two million fans cheering in the crowds and millions more tuning in online. NBCUniversal reported a staggering 15.4 million total viewership throughout the twelve day event, which is phenomenal in comparison to past viewership counts. The event’s 1.2 million Total Audience Delivery (TAD) is up thirty-one percent from the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics. Total Audience Delivery is the combined views of the broadcast and cable channels along with mobile, tablets, and connected TVs. This increase in TAD reflects an increasing global interest in Paralympic sports, hinting at a shift in public perception and media coverage regarding athletes with disabilities and Para-sports.
France celebrating after defeating Argentina in the blind football finals at the Eiffel Tower Stadium. Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Held this year in Paris, and featuring 4,400 athletes representing 184 nations, this year’s Paralympics was the largest in history. The event was composed of twenty-two different sports, each with solo and team competitions, as well as classes based on the athletes’ disabilities. A few favorites that were expected to top the medal chart were the USA, Brazil, and the Netherlands.
The Paralympics commenced on August 29th, featuring the first twelve categories of sports. These events include Para badminton, Para cycling, and Para swimming. By the end of the first day, several medals had already been handed out. Dozens of medals were then handed out throughout the rest of the Games. In swimming alone, forty-eight medals were given out across sixteen different events.
Of the twenty-two sports that were featured in this year’s Paralympics, two of these sports, goalball and boccia, are unique to the Paralympics. Goalball, a sport created specifically for athletes with vision impairment, is similar to handball. The sport is played in teams of three, with each team attempting to throw a ball embedded with bells into a net. Boccia, a sport where athletes attempt to throw or roll balls nearest to a certain target, is very similar to Bocce ball. Boccia is designed for athletes with severe physical disabilities, and it is played in threes, pairs, and solo.
Every event at the Paralympics saw athletes perform amazing feats. The Women’s Powerlifting Bench Press event saw Folashade Oluwafemiayo of Nigeria set a world record of 167 kilograms, despite losing all functionality in her legs from polio at a young age. Another outstanding athlete was American Ezra Frech, who competes for the T63 class for athletes, winning gold in the one hundred meter dash by 0.02 seconds but also the T63 high jump, setting a record of 1.95 meters.
The solo events are indeed fun to watch, but nothing gets more exciting than the team sports. In a showdown for the ages, the U.S. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team secured their spot in history with a 73-69 victory over Great Britain, which made them the first team to ever win three consecutive gold medals in the Paralympic games. At the helm of this win, were players Steve Serio and Brian Bell, who respectively put up twenty-four and thirty-one points. This dominating performance by the pair set the tone for the game and aided their team in making history.
So after all this excitement, who are the winners of this year’s Paralympics? After tallying all the medals, the top five are China, Great Britain, USA, Netherlands, and Brazil. China dominated the board with 220 medals, composed of 94 golds, 76 silvers, and 50 bronzes. Great Britain, who came second, had 124 medals, and the USA, who came third, had 105 total medals. China owes its high medal count partially to its swimmers, with many of them earning three or more medals each. For example, Jiang Yuyan of China won seven gold medals, one in each of her solo events, including a world record in the women’s one hundred meter backstroke with a time of 1:19.44.
The Paralympics is not just a sporting event but is also a powerful example of the indomitable human will. These athletes push themselves to the limits of what is possible, despite their physical limitations, and inspire the world with their stories of strength and perseverance.