When more than 4,400 athletes gather in Paris to Paralympic Games 2024the first medals begin to be awarded. The games started on August 28 and will run through Sept. 8.
The first medal of the Games went to Dutch paracyclist Caroline Groot, who set both the world and Paralympic records in the 500m time trial C4-5. Italy’s Francesco Bocciardo also set a Paralympic record, as the 30-year-old paraswimmer took home a medal in the men’s 200m freestyle S5 in his fourth Games. And host nation France got their first gold of the Games thanks to para swimmer Ugo Didier in the men’s 400m freestyle S9.
The first American medal in the Paralympics was a silver earned by paraswimmer Elizabeth Marks in the women’s 50 m freestyle S6; she also collected silver medals in the women’s 50m butterfly S6 and 200m individual medley SM6.
The Games will see medals awarded in 549 events in 22 sports in 20 venues – including the La Defense Aquatics Centre, which just saw medal winning performances from Olympians like US star Katie Ledecky and France’s Leon Marchandand the athletics facilities at the Stade de France, where American long jumper Tara Woodhall-Davis took home a gold.
She was cheered on by her husband, Hunter Woodhalla sprinter who will be chasing his own gold at the Paralympics starting on September 1. She jumped into his arms after her final jump in one of the games’ most viral moments.