PARIS, Aug 23, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The Paralympics begin in Paris on Wednesday,
putting on display the talents of remarkable athletes in a city still riding
the wave of the highly successful Olympics.

A new generation of Paralympians will be joined by seasoned veterans
competing in many of the same sensational venues in the centre of the French
capital that hosted Olympic sports.

A total of 18 of the 35 Olympic venues will be used for the Paralympics from
August 28 to September 8, including the Grand Palais which scored rave
reviews for its hosting of the fencing and taekwondo.

The La Defense Arena is back as well, hosting the 141 gold-medal events in
para-swimming, as is the Stade de France which hosts track and field.

The opening ceremony will take place at Place de la Concorde, which hosted
skateboarding and other 'urban' sports during the Olympics. Just as for the
Olympics ceremony on the River Seine, the ceremony takes place away from the
main stadium for the first time at a Paralympics.

Ticket sales were sluggish, with less than half of the tickets reportedly
sold by the time the Olympics were in full swing, but they have sped up
markedly since then and organisers say several venues are sold-out.

Every Games creates new stars, and this edition will be no exception, so look
to American above-the-knee amputee sprinter/high jumper Ezra Frech, who at 19
has already attracted a burst of publicity about his journey to Paris.

More familiar names return too -- British amputee sprinter Jonnie Peacock was
one of the highest-profile athletes of London 2012 and dusted off his running
blade last year to make a comeback in his bid to win a medal at a fourth
consecutive Paralympics.

- Strong Chinese team -

The Paralympics though always have a far wider message than simply sport and
International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons told AFP earlier
this year he hopes the Paris edition will restore the issues facing disabled
people to the top of the list of global priorities.

Parsons believes the Games "will have a big impact in how people with
disability are perceived around the world".

"This is one of the key expectations we have around Paris 2024; we believe
that we need people with disability to be put back on the global agenda," the
Brazilian said.

He argued that disability had fallen behind sexual and gender identity in
recent years.

"We do believe people with disability have been left behind. There is very
little debate about persons with disability."

Paralympic powerhouse China will send a strong squad -- the Chinese dominated
the medals table in Tokyo three years ago winning 96 golds. Britain were
second with 41 golds.

Riding the wave of its Olympic team's success, host nation France will be
aiming for a substantial upgrade on the 11 golds it won in 2021.

Ukraine, traditionally one of the top medal-winning nations at the
Paralympics, will still send a team of 140 athletes spread over 17 sports
despite the challenges they face in preparing as the war against Russian
forces rages.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete under a neutral banner, without
team colours, but will not be permitted to take part in the opening or
closing ceremonies.

The Russian and Belarusian federations were both suspended following the
invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 but their competitors are allowed to
compete as neutrals providing they have not shown any support for the war.