“Work cures everything,” said the French painter Henri Matisse, who was left in a wheelchair due to cancer. His disability did not prevent him from continuing to create.. Nor Toulouse-Lautrec. Nor the 4,400 athletes — 1,983 women, a record — from 182 countries who will light the Paralympic flame this Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. (RTVE) in the opening ceremony to light up the sky of Paris until next Sunday, September 8. The big novelty of this event will be in the stands, which will once again be full of spectators, leaving behind the chiaroscuro of the pandemic. Everything will be light and color. Diversity and inclusion. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.
Equality is the common thread between the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as they share an emblem and mascot: Phryge. However, the little Phrygian cap – a symbol of the French Revolution of 1789 – will be sporting a prosthetic leg for this event. This element was not chosen at random, but rather seeks to “lead a new revolution through sport.” In addition, both the medal ribbon — designed by the Chaumet jewelry company — and one of its sides will be identical for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the latter incorporating the words ‘Paris 2024’ written in Braille.in honor of its creator, the Frenchman Louis Braille.
The opening ceremony parade will take to the streets and wind its way from the Champs-Élysées to the Place de la Concorde. “The fact that this ceremony is taking place in the heart of the city is symbolic and aims to place the inclusion of people with disabilities at the heart of our society,” explains Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024. The eleven days of competition will bring together 549 medal events in the 22 sports that make up the programme —there are none new— and will be covered by more than 2,200 accredited journalists. The different disciplines will be spread across 17 venues and 3.4 million tickets have already been put on sale to attend them. Tickets start at €15.
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Paris 2024 will have more delegations than Tokyo 2020 (168) and the delegations from Eritrea, Kiribati and Kosovo will be making their debut, although there are some things that will not change. Russian (88) and Belarusian (8) athletes will compete under a neutral flag, as they cannot participate as a country. Three years ago, Russia was facing a sanction over a doping scandal. This time, however, it comes as a result of its conflict with Ukraine. Precisely, these conflicts have caused the refugee team to grow more and more.. At Rio 2016, the team consisted of just two athletes. That number increased to six at Tokyo 2020, and now it consists of eight, plus an athletics guide. They will have the difficult mission of representing 120 million forcibly displaced people around the world.
The Spanish team has also increased, going from 135 to 150 athletes (139 with disabilities and 11 support athletes). and will participate in 16 of the 22 sports. The average age is 33.2 years and there will be 45 debutants, a figure higher than in Tokyo. Female participation is growing more slowly, at 36%. A recordsurpassing the records of Barcelona 1992 (29%), Atlanta 1996 (26%), Sydney 2000 (25%), Athens 2004 (22%), Beijing 2008 (24%), London 2012 (22%), Rio 2016 (24%) and Tokyo 2020 (31%). Teresa Perales, Susana Rodríguez, Eva Moral, Adi Iglesias, Nuria Marqués, Sarai Gascón, Marta Fernández… are strong candidates to win a medal —For the first time, the prize will be the same for Olympians and Paralympians in our country— and give a boost to Spain, which with 683 medals (216 gold, 234 silver and 233 bronze) is placed twelfth in the ranking. a historic ranking led by the United States (2,283), Great Britain (1,913) and China (1,229). Precisely, China has the largest delegation (282 athletes), followed by Brazil (255) and host France (237).
Judoka Marta Arce and paddler Álvaro Valera will be the Spanish flag bearers in a ceremony where a good part of the world will be present. star system of international Paralympic sport, such as American swimmer Jessica Long, who has 29 medals and wants to catch up with her compatriot Trischa Zornthe most Paralympic medallist with 41 golds, nine silvers and five bronzes. Other stars to watch include the Egyptian Ibrahim Hamadtou (table tennis), the British Sarah Storey (cycling), the Dutch Flower Jong (athletics), the Indian Krishna Nagar (badminton), the Swiss Marcel Hug (athletics), the French Sandrine Martinet (judo), the German Markus Rehm (athletics), the Australian Qian Yang (table tennis) and the Italians Baby Saw (fencing) and Valentina Petrillo (athletics), who made history by being the first trans woman at the Paralympic Games. Those of inclusion and colour. “We must see life as if we were children,” he insisted. Matisse. Without prejudice. Only with ingenuity and illusion.
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