Paris Paralympics begin on Wednesday (28) with opening ceremony; Brazil debuts on Thursday (29)

Brasil de Fato

The Paris Paralympic Games begin on Wednesday (28), with the opening ceremony starting at 8 p.m. (local time). Paralympic champions Beth Gomes from athletics and Gabriel Araújo from swimming will be the Brazilian flag bearers. 

The competitions start on Thursday (29), with intense Brazilian participation. On this day, the country will be represented in para-badminton, Paralympic archery, goalball, and sitting volleyball. Check out the full program on the official Paralympic Games website. 

A total of 279 Brazilian sportspeople, including athletes and guide athletes, are taking part in the competition, making it the largest Brazilian delegation ever to participate in a Games edition outside of Brazil. Paris will also see the largest women’s participation in the history of the Paralympic Games. 

In all, 22 of Brazil’s 26 states, including the Federal District, will be represented in the delegation in 20 sports at the Games. Most athletes are from São Paulo: 71 of the 254 called up, representing 28% of the total team.    

At the beginning of August, the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB, in Portuguese) launched a campaign with medal-winning athletes who will be participating in the games, with the manifesto “More Than Winners: Brazilians.”    

The campaign video features medalists Gabriel Araújo, a swimmer from Minas Gerais; weightlifter Mariana D’Andrea, from São Paulo; sprinter Vinícius Rodrigues, from Paraná; and thrower Raíssa Machado, from Bahia. The film is available online, offline, and on CPB’s social networks. 

“The Paralympic Games have arrived, and we aim to rally Brazilian fans not only for the athletes competing in Paris in our colors but also to raise public awareness of inclusion through sport,” explained Mizael Conrado, a two-time Paralympic champion in blind soccer, in the campaign material. 

The Games will take place from August 28 to September 8, featuring around 4,400 athletes. In the last edition in Tokyo, Brazil won 72 medals: 22 gold, 20 silver, and 30 bronze, finishing seventh in the medal table.