Paralympics History and the 2024 Games – All You Need to Know
By Lewis Humphries,Editor at online-gambling.com
Lewis Humphries
Editor at online-gambling.com
Now that the dust has settled on the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, thoughts are now turning to the Paralympic Games. The French capital will host this event too, while the 2024 Paralympics will be the 17th iteration of an event that was initially inaugurated back in 1960.
Of course, this event is not quite as high-profile or widely covered as the Olympic Games, but 2024 will see an incredible 549 events played out across 22 different sporting disciplines. You can watch and wager the action as it unfolds at the leading online sportsbooks, but what do you need to know about Paralympics history and the upcoming event?
- When is the 2024 Paralympics Due to be Held?
- A Brief History of the Paralympic Games
- Beyond the History of the Paralympic Movement – The Most Popular Sports
- The 2024 Paralympics Schedule
- Who are the Most Likely 2024 Paralympic Stars?
When is the 2024 Paralympics Due to be Held?
The 2024 Paralympics will run between Wednesday, August 28th and Sunday, September 8th. During this time, a total of 183 countries will be competing in 22 different sports, with 549 individual events included as part of the schedule. A total of 13 nations will make their debut at the Paralympics, including American Samoa, Belize, Chad, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Guam, Kiribati, Kosovo, Palau, South Sudan and Tuvalu.
There are also nine nations that are scheduled to make a return to Paralympic action after extended periods of absence. These include Bolivia (who last participated in 1992), Liechtenstein (2004), Bangladesh (2008), Albania (2012), Antigua (2012), Barbuda (2012), San Marino (2012), East Timor (2016), Suriname (2016) and Tonga (2016).
A Brief History of Paralympic Games
While the traditional Summer Olympics can trace its heritage back to Athens and 1896, the first Paralympics event didn’t take place until 1960. The first iteration of the event was hosted in Rome, Italy, during which a total of 400 athletes from just 23 participating countries took part. This event was also restricted to athletes who competed in wheelchairs.
It was during the fourth renewal of the event in 1976 that athletes with a variety of physical disabilities were allowed to take part. This saw the Games expand significantly, as more than 1,600 athletes from 40 different countries were able to compete.
Around this time, the traditional Summer Games and Paralympics were hosted in different cities across the globe, but this changed in 1988. This was the first iteration of the Paralympics to be hosted by the same venue as the alternative Summer Games, with these events usually separated by a period of between two and three weeks.
2016 was another stellar and ground-breaking year for the Paralympics, with Rio de Janeiro becoming the first ever Latin American or South American city to host either the Summer or Winter Games. This was an impressive accomplishment for the Brazilian city, while it should also be noted that Tokyo subsequently became the first region to host the Paralympics in 2020.
Of course, the history of the Paralympic movement dates back further than 1960. Prior to the inaugural Paralympic Games in 1960, campaigners were pushing to create a more inclusive event that was targeted at disabled athletes (initially those confined to wheelchairs). This was a less visible or public element of the formative civil rights’ movement, as marginalized communities throughout the world fought for recognition and inclusion.
Beyond the History of the Paralympic Movement – The Most Popular Sports
Throughout the history of Paralympic Games and events, a total of 31 sports have been contested. These include mainstays such as archery, athletics, table tennis and swimming, each of which have been included since the Rome Paralympics in 1960. Others, such as badminton, cycling and rowing made their debuts considerably later, but continue to be contested in 2024.
Of course, several sports and events have also fallen by the wayside during Paralympics history. For example, sailing was last contested at the Games in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Weightlifting was contested between 1964 and 1992 before being discontinued, although powerlifting has remained a staple of the event since 1984. The sport of snooker was last contested in the Paralympics in 1988.
In the 2024 iteration of the Games, gold medals will be available across 22 different sports. Athletics is the single biggest discipline, unlocking 164 different events and medal sets. There are 141 separate swimming events scheduled for the 2024 Paralympics, while 51 cycling medals are available (34 in road events and 17 on the track). Here’s a full list of the sports and events that will take place in 2024!
- Archery – 9 Events
- Athletics – 164 Events
- Badminton – 16 Events
- Boccia – 11 Events
- Cycling – 51 Events (34 Road Races and 17 Track Races)
- Equestrian – 11 Events
- Football (Five-a-Side) – 1 Event
- Goalball – 2 Events
- Judo – 16 Events
- Paracanoe – 10 Events
- Paratriathlon – 11 Events
- Powerlifting – 20 Events
- Rowing – 5 Events
- Shooting – 13 Events
- Sitting Volleyball – 2 Events
- Swimming – 141 Events
- Table Tennis – 31 Events
- Taekwondo – 10 Events
- Wheelchair Basketball – 2 Events
- Wheelchair Fencing – 16 Events
- Wheelchair Rugby – 1 Event
- Wheelchair Tennis – 6 Events
The 2024 Paralympics Schedule
It’s incredible to think that these 22 sports will host a total of 549 events, each of which will be contested in just 12 days between August 28th and September 8th. This represents an incredible feat of organization and planning, especially with such a large number of volunteers involved in the Parisian Paralympics. To help provide context and understanding, here’s an at-a-glance summary of the 2024 Paralympics timeline and schedule:
| Sport | 28 Aug | 29 Aug | 30 Aug | 31 Aug | 1 Sep | 2 Sep | 3 Sep | 4 Sep | 5 Sep | 6 Sep | 7 Sep | 8 Sep | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boccia | – | – | – | – | 2 | 6 | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | 11 |
| Football 5-a-side | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| Goalball | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | 2 |
| Archery | – | – | – | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 9 |
| Athletics | – | – | 14 | 18 | 19 | 13 | 24 | 15 | 19 | 16 | 22 | 4 | 164 |
| Badminton | – | – | – | – | 2 | 14 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 16 |
| Canoe | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Cycling | – | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | – | – | 19 | 6 | 4 | 5 | – | 51 |
| Equestrian | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 2 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 11 |
| Judo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | 5 | 6 | – | 16 |
| Powerlifting | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 20 |
| Rowing | – | – | – | – | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 |
| Swimming | – | 15 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 15 | – | 141 |
| Table Tennis | – | – | 2 | 5 | 3 | – | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 | – | 31 |
| Taekwondo | – | 3 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 |
| Triathlon | – | – | – | – | 7 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11 |
| Shooting | – | – | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 13 |
| Sitting Volleyball | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | 2 |
| Wheelchair Basketball | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Wheelchair Fencing | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | – | 16 |
| Wheelchair Rugby | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Wheelchair Tennis | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | 6 |
As you can see, there are no medals up for grabs on Wednesday, 28th August (the tournament’s opening day. However, this will see the event launch with a dramatic opening ceremony, which will include a popular parade on the iconic Champs-Elysées. The closing day (Sunday 8th September) will also see the closing ceremony, alongside some final events in powerlifting, canoeing and wheelchair basketball.
Who are the Most Likely 2024 Paralympic Stars?
Now that we’ve learned more about the origin of Paralympic games events and the timeline for the 2024 iteration, it’s time to take a closer look at the potential stars of this competition. As Paralympics history tells us, there are likely to be incredible feats of commitment and athleticism during the Games, but which competitors are expected to steal the headlines?
- Alexis Hanquinquant, Triathlon: We’ll start with the talented triathlon competitor and home favorite Alexis Hanquinquant, with the French star among the last Summer Olympic torchbearers at the opening ceremony on July 26th. He’s the men’s PTS4 defending champion, and is favorite once again to prevail in front of his home supporters. Hanquinquant has also won the European Championship and prevailed in the 2017/18 World Championship, so he’ll be confident of winning yet another Paralympic gold.
- Diede de Groot, Wheelchair Tennis: The 27-year-old de Groot remains best wheelchair tennis player in the world in both singles and doubles, and will be looking to win a second successive Olympic gold in Paris. She has won a staggering 23 Grand Slams singles events, including five French Open titles between 2018 and 2024 (the 2024 Paralympic tournament will be held at Roland Garros). De Groot also embarked on a 145-match unbeaten run in singles matches between February 2021 and May 2024, while she won her sixth Wimbledon title on the eve of this summer’s Paralympics. Undoubtedly, she’s the woman to beat in the Paris Games.
- Sumit Antil, Athletics: While Sumit Antil may not be famous across the globe, he’s a household name in his home country of India. In fact, he remains India’s most famous athlete in the history of Paralympic Games, while the 26-year-old will arrive in Paris as the defending champion and two-time world title winner in the men’s javelin F64. He’ll be determined in his search for another gold medal in the French capital this summer, while he will also look to break his own world record of 73.29 meters in the event. He’ll certainly be an athlete to watch in Paris.
- Oksana Masters, Cycling: Not only is the USA’s Oksana Masters a versatile jack-of-all-trades, but she has mastered a fair few of these too. In fact, this six-time Paralympian has won 17 medals across four different sports: namely Para rowing, Para cross-country skiing, Para biathlon and Para cycling. Seven of these medals have been golds too, including two that were won back-to-back in cycling events at Tokyo 2020. The 35-year-old Masters also has a unique backstory, surviving the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster before becoming America’s most successful Winter Paralympian. She’s certainly one of the most intriguing and decorated athletes in the history of the Paralympic movement, and she’ll compete in cycling once again in Paris.
The Last Word
The 2024 Paralympics will be the 17th iteration of this stellar sporting event, which has produced some of the most incredible tales of determination and accomplishment throughout history. Some of the most decorated Paralympians of all time will also be appearing in Paris this summer, including home favourite Alexis Hanquinquant.
What’s more, the 12 days at the Summer Paralympics will be packed full of action, featuring 549 events across 22 different sports. So, there will be plenty to keep you entertained if you’re among the Paralympics’ viewers, whether you attend in person or watch on TV!
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