If you’re still buzzing about the 2024 Paris Olympics, you’ll be happy to know the games aren’t over. The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games have begun and run from August 28 to September 8. These games feature more than 1,000 athletes, with 138 representing the United States.
Events for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will take place in many of the same venues as the 2024 Summer Olympics and will include variations of popular Olympic sports. Here’s everything you need to know about the Paralympics plus some Team USA athletes you won’t want to miss.
What are the Paralympics?
The Paralympics are an international sporting event for athletes with disabilities. The 2024 Paris Paralympic Games includes 22 sports and 164 medal events.
Compared to the Olympics, the Paralympics are relatively new. Sir Ludwig Guttmann introduced the idea of the Paralympics in 1948 as a competition for World War II veterans throughout England. In 1952, England welcomed athletes from Holland to join, sparking the Paralympic Movement, which encouraged more disabled athletes to compete in various high-level sports.
In 1960, the first official Olympic-style games for athletes with disabilities came to Rome. The competition occurred soon after the year’s Olympic Games, attracting 400 participants from 23 countries to compete in eight sports. Since then, the Paralympics have continued every four years alongside the Olympics, growing to attract new fans and athletes.
What is a Para-athlete?
While the Paralympics was originally for veterans who developed a disability from war, the Paralympics today welcome athletes from diverse backgrounds. A Para-athlete is someone with a disability who competes in an athletic competition. Disabilities can range from amputations and muscle disorders to visual impairments and differences in limb lengths.
Para-athletes may need different accommodations depending on their sport and the classification of the event. Some athletes use wheelchairs and prosthetic devices, while others may need special equipment or a sighted guide if they have a vision impairment.
Sports to Watch During the Paralympics
The summer Paralympics has 22 sports sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee. Team USA is expected to compete in popular sports, including Para Track and Field, Para Swimming, Partriatholon, and Wheelchair Rugby.
Para Track and Field
Para Track and Field (also called Para Athletics) has been a part of the Paralympic Games since the first 1960 Games in Rome, Italy. It’s one of the largest events with the most competing athletes and countries.
Para Athletics events include track, throwing, jumping, and the marathon. The rules are identical to the Olympics, with a few accommodations to ensure athletes can compete safely. For example, those with vision impairments in a running event tether themselves to a sighted runner to help them stay on the track. Other accommodations may include aerodynamic wheelchairs, compact prosthetics, and accessible field gear.
Para Swimming
Like Para Track and Field, Para Swimming is one of the original Paralympic sports from the first games in 1960. The events in Para Swimming include backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyles, medlies, and relies.
The same rules apply to Para Swimming as in the Olympics, with a few modifications for swimmers to compete safely.
Paratriatholon
The Paratriatholon came to the Paralympics during the 2016 Rio Games. Athletes swim 750m, cycle 20km, and run 5km.
Like many of the sports in the Paralympics, there are accommodations to assist athletes. Para athletes in the seated class (meaning they have limitations with their legs) use a handcycle for the biking segment of the race and a wheelchair for the running portion. Athletes with vision impairment use a tandem bike with their guide and stick with their guide throughout the race.
Athletes in the sanding class of this event can use prosthetic legs. Some also have modifications to their bikes.
Wheelchair Rugby
Wheelchair rugby is a Canadian sport developed in 1970. It made its first Paralympic appearance in Sydney at the 2000 games. Wheelchair rugby is a mixed sport, meaning all genders play together. All athletes have some degree of paralysis in their limbs and play in a manual wheelchair.
Wheelchair rugby is a unique sport because there isn’t an able-bodied equivalent. It mixes aspects of rugby, basketball, and handball and is often called “murderball” because it is an aggressive combat sport. Athletes can punch tires, and it’s not uncommon to see wheelchairs flip.
You can learn about all 22 sports in the Paralympics here.
USA Athletes to Watch
All the USA athletes headed to the Paralympics are worth following, but you’ll definitely want to check out these returning and debuting para-athletes.
You can also find out who’s competing from your state with the help of this interactive map provided by Team USA.
Hunter Woodhall — Para Track and Field
If you watched the women’s track and field events at the Olympics, you might have spotted Hunter Woodhall cheering on his wife Tara Davis-Woodhall of Team USA after she won gold in the Women’s Long Jump. Now it’s Woodhall’s turn, competing in the men’s 100m and 400m in Paris.
Woodhall impressed international audiences at 16 in the 2015 World Championships, winning silver in the 400m and bronze in the 200m. The following year, he competed in his first Paralympic games, taking home the silver in the 200m and bronze in the 400m. He earned his third medal in Toyko 2020 Paralympics, getting a bronze in the 400m.
Jeremy Campbell — Para Track and Field
Another Para Track and Field favorite is 4-time Paralympic gold medalist Jeremy Campbell. The 37-year-old athlete is coming to Paris hoping to score his fifth gold medal in the disc throw. He is the most accomplished Paralympic thrower and is the first Paralympian to throw more than 60 meters.
Campbell loved sports his whole life. He is the youngest of three brothers and played as the starting quarterback for his high school football team. In 2003, Campbell got his first exposure to the Paralympic track and field during the Endeavor Games.
McKenzie Coan — Para Swimming
McKenzie Coan is a 6-time Paralympic medalist with four gold and two silver over three Paralympics. In Paris, Coan hopes to add to her medal count by competing in the 50 butterfly, 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, and 400 freestyle.
Coan developed brittle bone disease as a child, which brought her to her first swimming experience through aquatic therapy in 2001. She caught onto swimming quickly and joined the swim team at her local pool. She’s since earned 16 World Championship medals with 8 gold, 7 silver, and one bronze.
Kendall Gretsch — Paratriathlon
Kendall Gretsch is looking to repeat her Paratriathlon gold at the Paris Paralympics. She earned a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games. She is also a three-time Paratriathlon Word Champion and took 4th in the 2024 World Triathlon Para Series leading up to Paris.
Gretsch was born with spina bifida. She grew up swimming in her hometown of Downers Grove, Illinois, and competed with her high school swim team. She made her Paralympic debut in the Winter Games, earning two gold medals in Nordic skiing.
Gretsch got involved in triathlons after her sophomore year of college at Washington University. In 2014, Gretsch was named USA Triathlon Female Paratriathlete of the Year. The following year, she was an ESPY for Best Female Athlete with a Disability nominee.
Jessica Long — Para Swimming
Entering her sixth Paralympic Games, 16-time gold medalist Jessica Long wants to add a few more medals to her collection.
Long was born with fibular hemimelia, resulting in amputation below the knees on both legs. Long competed in her first competitive swim team at 10. Her first international competition was the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, making her the youngest athlete on the US Paralympic Swim Team at 12.
She is a three-time recipient of the ESPN Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award and is a 29-time Paralympic medalist with 8 silver and 5 bronze on top of her 16 gold.
Oksana Masters — Para Nordic Skiing, Para Biathlon, Para-Cycling, Para-Rowing
Oksana Masters is an American multi-sport athlete and a 17-time Paralympic medalist specializing in Para Nordic skiing, Para-cycling, and Para-rowing. She made history as the first American to win a bronze medal in the trunk and arms mixed double sculls event at the Paralympic Games London 2012.
Masters competed in the Paralympic Winter Games in 2014 and 2018. Her performance at the Paralympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018 earned her two gold medals in the 1.5-kilometer sprint classic and 5-kilometer sitting events. She then secured a gold medal in the 2.5-kilometer mixed relay and added three silver medals in the 15-kilometer sitting, 1.5-kilometer sprint sitting, and 10-kilometer sitting events at the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. In 2012, Masters took on Para-cycling and won two golds at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Oksana Masters was born with multiple congenital disabilities as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Her congenital disabilities included significant issues with her limbs, requiring numerous surgeries throughout her childhood, and eventually having both legs amputated above the knee at age 14.
On behalf of non-profit Gold Meets Golden, dedicated to connecting the worlds of Hollywood and sport, and partner Samsung, actor David Schwimmer of “Friends” gave a Masters a surprise celebrity send-off to Paris 2024. Watch it here:
Tatyana McFadden — Para Track and Field
Tatyana McFadden is heading to her seventh Paralympics in Para Track and Field. McFadden is one the most decorated Paralympic athletes. She is a 24-time World Marathon Major winner and a 20-time Paralympic medalist.
McFadden faced many competition barriers with her racing chair throughout her career. Her advocacy led to the Maryland Fitness and Athletics Equity for Students with Disabilities Act in 2008, also known as “Tatyana’s Law,” ensuring equal athletic opportunities for disabled students.
Sarah Adam — Wheelchair Rugby
If you fell in love with U.S. Women’s Rugby player Ilona Maher, you’ll love Sara Adam.
Adam is the first woman to represent Team USA in wheelchair rugby at a Paralympic Games as one of the team’s principal ball carriers. She’s also the first woman to win a gold medal with USA Wheelchair Rugby during the Parapan American Games Santiago 2023.
Adam is a professor of occupational therapy at St. Louis University in Missouri. She discovered wheelchair rugby as an able-bodied volunteer while at occupational therapy school. After her multiple sclerosis diagnosis, she started training in wheelchair rugby and earned a National team spot in 2022.
Zion Redington — Wheelchair Rugby
Zion Redington joins Adam on the wheelchair rugby team as one of the youngest players on the national team.
Redington developed ectrodactyly, which causes the absence or deficiency of one or more central digits on the hands or feet, and he had his feet amputated at age 6. Three years later, at age 9, he started playing wheelchair rugby.
Bobby Body — Para Powerlifting
Bobby Body heads into his first Paralympics after earning gold in the Parapan American Games Santiago 2023 for Para Powerlifting.
Body studied criminal justice at Ferris State University, where he played rugby. He lost his leg to a roadside bombing during a routine mission in Iraq. He is a certified peer support specialist, counseling other Veterans and amputees with PTSD to help them overcome their obstacles.
How to Watch the Paralympics
Coverage of the Paralympics will air on NBC, Peacock, USA Network and CNBC. Today has all the details on where and when to watch on TV and online.
How to Help
Training and traveling for the Olympics is expensive for many athletes. The funds required for training, coaching, and travel can even keep some well-deserving athletes from reaching their Olympic and Paralympic potential.
The Olympic and Paralympic Foundation’s mission is to support Team USA athletes on and off the field. The foundation hopes to raise $500 million through its first comprehensive public fundraising campaign. This money will help athletes reach the 2028 Los Angeles games.
Support Team USA’s future by donating today.
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Jessica Braun Gervais is a Chicago-based freelance writer specializing in health, wellness, and fitness. She earned a B.A. in Journalism from Columbia College and has written content for various health and wellness institutions. Jessica Braun’s passion for wellness comes from her life as an elite athlete competing in Muay Thai kickboxing competitions across the country. In addition to sharing her expertise through writing, Jessica Braun also works as a group fitness instructor and personal trainer. When she’s not writing or training, Jessica Braun enjoys reading historical fiction novels, discovering new coffee shops, and cuddling with her cattle dog, Brady.
