Paris 2024: 10 fun facts about the Paralympic Games

Image credit: Paralympics New Zealand Website

For those of us still riding the Paris 2024 Olympic Games high, it’s not over yet! While the Olympic Games may have come to a close, the spotlight is now on the Paralympic Games, which is set to kick off on August 28th. As we look forward to more inspiring athletic performances to come, here are a few fun facts about the Paralympic Games to get you pumped up for the action.

1. The Paralympic Games started out as a friendly competition in 1948 on the hospital grounds of Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire for British World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries. Eventually, this grew to become the very first Paralympic Games in 1960 hosted in Rome, Italy, which featured 400 athletes from 23 different countries.
2. The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games are set to feature 4400 athletes from 184 countries competing across 22 sports and 549 medal events.
3. A total of 25 para-athletes have been selected to represent Team New Zealand at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games this year.
4. The Paralympic Games uses its own unique classification system in which athletes with similar impairments compete against each other, to ensure fair and equal competition across every sport.

Image credit: International Paralympic Committee

1. Beyond containing a piece of original iron from the Eiffel Tower, the medals also have distinct engravings and universal braille on them to allow para-athletes to distinguish their medals by touch!
2. The only two Paralympic disciplines that do not have an Olympic counterpart are goalball and boccia, making The Paralympic Games a great opportunity to discover these sports.
3. The hoop used in wheelchair basketball is 3.05 metres from the ground, just like at the Olympic Games.

Image credit: Paralympics New Zealand Website

1. Para-swimming is the only Paralympic sport that athletes with all types of disabilities are allowed to compete in.
2. When it was first created in the 1970s, wheelchair rugby was known as “murderball” because of the brutal, fast-paced nature of the game, which often resulted in players colliding with each other at full speed!
3. Since the sport made its Paralympic debut, Brazil has won a gold medal in every blind football tournament held at the Paralympic Games.

Westfield centres around New Zealand are getting ready to stream all the action from the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games direct from Paris at our Fan Zones! Head to your local centre website to find out more. The Paralympic Live Sites will commence on 29 August until 9 September. Head to your local centre website to find out more. Until then, don’t miss all the Olympic and Paralympic-themed activities, live music and more at Westfield.