The Paralympics also use numerical values to measure the range of effort intensity that each athlete can deliver. Athletes from different classes can compete against each other as long as they have the same potential to practice a particular sport. In team games, for example, the sum of the different scores of the members of a team cannot exceed a certain quota to ensure equal competition. You can read more about the scores here.
Boccia and other disciplines without Olympic equivalent
There are two sports at the Paralympics that do not have their own counterpart at the Olympic Games: goalball and bocce.
The former is a team sport for visually impaired and blind athletes. It was developed in 1946 for World War II veterans who had lost their sight during the conflict. Men’s goalball made its debut at the 1976 Paralympic Games in Toronto, while the women’s version appeared at the 1984 Paralympic Games in New York. It is played in two 12-minute halves with two teams of three players each.
The playing field is the same size as volleyball: 18 m long and 9 m wide. There are two goals at either end of the field, covering the entire width of the field. The attacking team tries to score a goal by rolling a ball with bells quickly towards the opponent’s goal, which is defended by the opponents. However, for the shot to be valid, the ball must bounce at least once in the thrower’s landing area; the defenders lie down to cover the goal. As in blind football, spectators must be quiet during the game so that the players can hear the ball.
Played by wheelchair athletes whose motor disabilities affect them, bocce has long been practiced in amateur competitions and made its debut at the 1984 Paralympic Games. It is one of the few disciplines in which both men and women compete in the same events.
The differences between Paralympic and Olympic medals
Much has been said about the medals of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, which featured a piece of the Eiffel Tower. The fragment of the famous Parisian monument is also included in the medals of the Paralympic Games, but there is one difference: on the back there will be an Olympic stamp in Braille in honor of the French inventor of Braille, Louis Braille.
The symbols of the Paralympics
At the Paris Olympics, fans were introduced to the Phryges, the mascots inspired by the Parisian caps worn during the French Revolution. For the first time in history, the 2024 Paralympics will feature a mascot depicting a racing blade.
Another novelty in the symbolism of the Paralympics is that this edition is the first in which the logo of the event coincides with that of the Olympic Games, a sign of greater integration between the two tournaments. The emblem features a gold medal, a flame and the Marianne, a symbol of the revolution and of France as a nation. In the Olympic emblem, the Marianne dominates the five circles, while the Paralympics logo is not made up of the five circles, but of the three “agitos” red, blue and green (mind, body and soul).
The Paralympics in Paris in numbers
Besides London, Paris is the only city to have hosted the Summer Olympic Games three times. However, the French capital has never hosted the Summer Paralympics. The 1992 Winter Paralympics were hosted by France in Albertville.
Some 4,400 Paralympic athletes from around the world will compete in 549 medal events across the 22 featured sports, with 11 events taking place on Wednesday, the first day of the event.
The venues of the 2024 Paralympics
As with the Olympic Games, the Paralympics will feature all of Paris’ famous venues, from the Palace of Versailles for the Paralympic equestrian events to the Grand Palais for wheelchair fencing and Paralympic taekwondo competitions and the Invalides for Paralympic archery. The Eiffel Tower, where football matches for the blind will take place, will also be part of the Roland-Garros stadium, where wheelchair tennis and sitting volleyball competitions will be held.
