Paralympians shine in wheelchair basketball, swimming and sitting volleyball

Yahoo News Photo Staff
A close-up view of someone with a prosthetic leg on a badminton court.
Prosthetic leg of Noriko Ito of Japan during her para-badminton match against Halime Yildiz of Turkey in Paris on Aug. 29. (Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters) (REUTERS)

The 2024 Paralympic Games kicked off in Paris this week with Team USA dominating Spain in men’s wheelchair basketball on Thursday, 66-56.

Since then, more than 4,000 athletes from countries such as Germany, Japan, Rwanda, Italy and India have competed for gold in 22 sports including para-table tennis, para-swimming, para-badminton, sitting volleyball, track cycling, para-archery, para-rowing and wheelchair rugby, among others.

By Friday, Great Britain and the People's Republic of China were dominating the leaderboard on gold medals and medals overall. The U.S. has also racked up its share of silver medals.

International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons said during Wednesday’s opening ceremony that he hopes these games spark an "inclusion revolution."

"The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will show persons with disabilities what they can achieve at the highest level," Parsons said. "The fact that these opportunities largely exist only in sport in the year 2024 is shocking. It is proof that we can and must do more to advance disability."

Athletes will go for the gold through Sept. 8.

Here’s a look at some of this week’s events.

Women competing in sitting volleyball.
Gizele Maria da Costa Dias of Brazil competes with Claudine Murebwayire of Rwanda in sitting volleyball in Villepinte, France, on Aug. 29. (Maria Abranches/Reuters) (REUTERS)
A woman in a red swim cap in a pool.
Toni Shaw of Britain in action during the women's 400m freestyle in Nanterre, France, on Aug. 29. (Andrew Couldridge/Reuters) (REUTERS)
A male rider shown in a bike race.
Ricardo Ten Argiles of Spain celebrates after winning bronze in the men's 3000m track cycling event in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France, on Aug. 29. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters) (REUTERS)
Wheelchair competitors shown on a basketball court.
Team USA and Team Spain face off in wheelchair basketball in Paris on Aug. 29. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters) (REUTERS)
A competitor holds a badminton shuttle.
Rosa de Marco of Italy holds a shuttle during her para-badminton match with Thulasimathi Murugesan of India in Paris on Aug. 29. (Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters) (REUTERS)
Wheelchair competitors racing on a track.
Fabian Blum of Switzerland competes in the men's 400m event in Paris on Aug. 30. (Emilio Morenatti/AP) (AP)
A woman playing table tennis.
Stephanie Grebe of Germany in action during her table tennis match against Norway in Paris on Aug. 29. (Kacper Pempel /Reuters) (REUTERS)
Swimmers at the start of a race.
Fabiola Ramirez of Mexico takes the start in the women's 100m backstroke competition in Paris on Aug. 29. (Emilio Morenatti/AP) (AP)
A man racing on a bicycle.
Ricardo Ten Argiles of Spain rides during the men's 3000m event in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines on Aug. 29. (Thibault Camus/AP) (AP)
Men competing in wheelchair rugby.
Andrew Edmondson and Ryley Batt of Australia compete against Stuart Robinson of Great Britain during the wheelchair rugby match in Paris on Aug. 29. (Michel Euler/AP) (AP)
Rowers on the water.
France's rowers Laurent Cadot and Guylaine Marchand compete in Vaires-sur-Marne, France, on Aug. 30. (Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)
Competitors take part in para-archery.
British archer Victoria Kingstone and competitors take part in para-archery in Paris on Aug. 29. (Ian Rice/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)
Two players bend down on the court.
Rina Marlina and Subhan Subhan of Indonesia celebrate after their para-badminton match win against Naili Lin and Fengmei Li of China in Paris on Aug. 29. (Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters) (REUTERS)

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