Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
We can’t wait to watch the Paralympic Games in Paris this Summer! As the nation comes together to celebrate the achievements of our British athletes.
Many of the athletes taking part will have a spinal cord injury and the Games will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase the many physical and mental health benefits that come from living a more active life.
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will take place from 28 August to 8 September, and will feature as many as 4,400 athletes from around the world. They will compete in 22 sports across various iconic venues in Paris, including at the Eiffel Tower, the Chateau de Versailles and the Grand Palais.
The history of the Paralympic Games
On 29 July 1948, the day of the opening ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games, Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann organised the first sport competition for wheelchair athletes. The day involved 16 injured servicemen and women who took part in archery competition on the lawns of Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
The Stoke Mandeville Games later became the Paralympic Games which first took place in Rome, Italy, in 1960 featuring 400 athletes from 23 countries. Since then they have taken place every four years.
Did you know? … The word Paralympic derives from the Greek preposition ‘para’ (beside or alongside) and the word Olympic. The Paralympics are the parallel Games to the Olympics and illustrates how the two movements exist side-by-side.
www.paralympic.org/ipc/history
Image: WheelPower/Stoke Mandeville Stadium Archive
Our founder Baroness Sue Masham
In 1958 Sue suffered a T5 spinal cord injury when the horse she was riding in a point-to-point race fell and rolled on top of her. During her time as a patient at Stoke Mandeville Hospital she took up archery before being introduced to table tennis which she later described as her “number one sport”.
Sue competed in three consecutive Paralympic Summer Games, Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964 and Tel Aviv 1968, winning one gold and four silver medals in swimming events and two gold, two silver and one bronze across doubles and singles table tennis. In 1974 she founded the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA)
www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/baroness-masham-of-ilton
image: National Paralympic Heritage Trust / Sally Haynes
Paralympics GB athletes with spinal cord injury
The ParalympicsGB team consists of more than 150 athletes, and this includes over 35 athletes with a spinal cord injury. Let’s meet some of them below:
Ben Pritchard – Para Rowing
After competing in triathlon and cycling, Ben was at peak fitness when he was injured and wondered if he would ever compete again. Whilst at Stoke Mandeville a visit from British Rowing set him on a journey to the Paralympics.
Sophie Carrigill – Wheelchair Basketball
After sustaining a spinal cord injury Sophie didn’t know if sport would ever mean the same to her again. She soon realised how much she missed it and joined a local wheelchair basketball team.
Louise Sugden – Para powerlifting
Formerly a wheelchair basketball player, Louise only took up para powerlifting in 2017 in search of a new challenge. At the 2020 Tokyo games she lifted a brilliant 131kg to claim the bronze medal.
Gavin Walker MBE – Wheelchair Rugby
Following a fall on some wet decking in 2010, Gavin sustained a C6/7 spinal injury. He joined the GB Wheelchair Rugby team in 2013 and has competed around the world. In Tokyo 2020 he realised a life long dream of winning a gold medal.
Which sports to watch this Summer
With 22 sports to choose from there is going to be plenty to watch, from Athletics to Wheelchair Fencing, Shooting to Wheelchair Basketball. Check out the full list of sports HERE
Here are three sports we are excited to watch in Paris … please click on the images below to find out more:
Wheelchair Rugby
Did you know? … Wheelchair Rugby is one of the only full-contact disability sports at the Paralympics and is played indoors on a regulation-size basketball court. The sport is open to both men and women, and is one of the only games which allows them to compete on the same team.
Para Canoe
Did you know? … Para Canoe competitions take place over a 200m sprint in two different types of boat, a kayak and va’a. There are three classes for both men and women based on an athlete’s functional ability to paddle and apply force to the foot board or seat in order to move the canoe forward.
Para Athletics
Did you know? … Para athletics has been part of the Paralympic Games since 1960. It offers a wide range of competitions and events that include wheelchair racing on the track and throwing events on the field. It’s open to male and female athletes in all eligible impairment groups. People with spinal cord injury will be classified between T51-54.
TV coverage
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games is set to be the biggest ever, broadcast on Channel 4 with over 1,300 hours of live sport. Expert punditry and analysis will be provided by former athletes including our ambassador and former ParalympicsGB wheelchair rugby captain Steve Brown. WATCH NOW
Get active
There are plenty of opportunities out there to exercise, take part in activities and play sport with a spinal cord injury. The benefits of doing so are both physical and mental. Check out our brand new ‘Get Active’ webpage that includes lots of advice and information to help get you started: