Paris 2024 Paralympics Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony

The Ceremony alike the Olympic opener was performed outside of a stadium setting and began on the Place de la Concorde in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower with a film based Welcome to Paris and introduction of French President Emmanuel Macron and IPC President Andrew Parsons. 

The central stage began to fill with performers with an operatic musical interlude as the Phryges-clad Taxi from the opening film entered the arena and the Taxi driver and French Swimmer Théo Curin to a tricolour firework display as he did the Welcome to Paris.

This was followed by Christine and the Queens singing Non Je Regrette Rien made famous by Edith Piaf and then a flypast of the French Red Arrows (Patrouille de France) lit the sky up with tricolour smoke trails. 

The parade of the flags and Athletes began with GB's representatives being Terry Bywater (Wheelchair Basketball) and Lucy Shuker (Wheelchair Tennis) with the Arc De Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées as the superb backdrop. A lengthy parade of the 168 nations culminated in the future hosts of Australia (Brisbane 2032) and USA (Los Angeles 2028) before a huge atmosphere for hosts France. 

The next section was titled ' My Ability' with a focus on the abilities gained from disabilities before the central stage saw the artist Lucky Love singing “My Ability” with performers around him on the stage. A montage of the emotions from past games followed with a recognition of the rise in the amount of Paralympians to the current Paris total of 4400 and the rising of the French flag as La Marseillaise played. 

Due to the delay in my Olympics coverage and the subsequent catch-up needed, a first ever crossover is needed to prevent the Paralympics facing the same delay. So while the Olympics coverage will continue to be caught up, the Paralympic coverage begins with the Opening Ceremony. 

The official section of the Ceremony began with President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee Tony Estanguet and IPC President Andrew Parsons giving speeches praising the Athletes and officially opening the Games via French president Emmanuel Macron. The next section - Sportography featured the performing groups from earlier on but coming together in a mix of dance and sport as a team, where people with and without disabilities invent new sports in which everyone can participate. 

After such a superb performance of choreography, the Paralympic flag was carried onto the stage and then raised accompanied by the Paralympic Anthem and stunning harmony from Luan Pommier. This was followed by the Paralympic Oath being read out before the Paralympic Flame travelled down the Champs-Élysées and paraded across the stage during a chorographical flame performance to Ravel's 'Bolero'.

Alike the Olympic flame, the Paralympic flame uses the hot-air balloon cauldron as the flames home for the next 11 days and after its igniting by the quintet of Charles-Antoine Kouakou, Nantenin Keita (Both Para Athletics), Fabien Lamirault (Para Table Tennis), Alexis Hanquinquant (Para Triathlon) and Elodie Lorandi (Para Swimming).

Christine and the Queens returned with an upbeat catchy tune to round off the Ceremony which ended with a huge firework display as seen in the adjacent images. A truly superb Opening Ceremony, the best I have seen in the 12 years on this blog since the debuting blog back in London 2012.  

Paris 2024 Days One-Four (Catch-Up)

A superb 16 days of action at the Paris 2024 Olympics meant a lot of watching and combined with other offline life resulted in the traditional daily writeups being delayed until after the games ended. 

Day 1

The first medals of the Games were won in the 10m Mixed Air Rifle Mixed Team Shooting with Kazakhstan 1 easing to Bronze with a 17-5 victory over Germany. A close final match saw China 1 edge a 16-12 win over Korea 1.

China claimed the second Gold of the Games with success for Yani Chang/Yiwen Chen in the Women's Synchronised 3m Springboard and the duo of Sarah Bacon/Kassidy Cook (USA) secured Silver and there was a first medal of the Games for Team GB pair Yasmin Harper/Scarlett Mew Jensen. 

The Cycling Road Individual Time Trials saw a mix of five countries scooping medals with Grace Brown (AUS) winning Gold ahead of GB's Anna Henderson who secured Silver while Chloe Dygert (USA) crossed for Bronze. In the Men's, Belgian duo Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert crossed for Gold and Bronze while Filippo Ganna (ITA) secured Silver. 

The first Judo medals came in the Women's -48kg as Shrine Boukli (FRA) edged past Laura Martinez Abelenda (ESP) to claim Bronze while Tara Babulfath (SWE) eased to Bronze over Abiba Abuzhakynova (KAZ). Gold went to Natsumi Tsunoda (JPN) after a narrow win over Baasankhuu Basvuudorj (MGL) who secured Silver.  

The Men's -60kg saw Gold won by Yeldos Smetov (KAZ) after a narrow 1-0 victory over Luka Mkheidze (FRA) who took Silver while Ryuju Nagayama (JPN) and Francisco Garrigos (SPA) claimed Bronzes after battling past Yildiz Salih (TUR) and Giorgi Sardalashvili (GEO). 

Joy for the hosts in the Men's Rugby Sevens as France eased to a 28-7 victory over Fiji while South Africa sealed Bronze with a 26-19 success over Australia. 

A narrow 15-14 win in the Women's Epée Individual for Eszter Muhari (HUN) over Neilli Differt (EST) while Man Wai Vivian Kong (HKG) won Gold after defeating Auriane Mallo-Breton |(FRA) 13-12. The Men's Sabre Individual saw Sanguk Oh (KOR) seal a 15-11 win over Ferjani Fares (TUR) and Luigi Samele (ITA) claimed a 15-12 success against Ziad Elsissy (EGY). 

The first medals in the pool came in the Men's 400m Freestyle as Lukas Maertens (GER) took Gold ahead of Elijah Winnington (AUS) and Kim Woomin (KOR). Ariane Titmus (AUS) won the Women's event as she finished ahead of Summer McIntosh (CAN) and Katie Ledecky (USA). 

Day One ended with both of the 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay finals with Australia (Mollie O'Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma Mckeon, Meg Harris) storming to an Olympic Record of 3:28.92 to win the Men's ahead of United States of America (Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske, Simone Manuel) and China (Junxuan Yang, Yujie Cheng, Yufei Zhang, Qingfeng Wu.

Day 2

Day Two opened with the 10m Air Pistol finals with Xie YU (CHN) winning the Men's event ahead of the Italian duo of Federico Maldini and Paolo Monna. A Republic of Korea 1-2 in the Women's event saw Ye Jin Oh claim Gold ahead of Yeji Kim while Manu Bhaker (IND) took Bronze. 

Home joy in the Cycling Mountain Bike Women's Cross-Country for Pauline Ferrand Prevot (FRA) as she finished ahead of Haley Batten (USA) and Jenny Rissveds (SWE). GB's Evie Richards narrowly missed out on a medal in fifth just 25 seconds off the podium. 

The Women's Team Archery saw Republic of Korea (Hunyoung Jeon, Sihyeon Lim, Suhyeon Nam) seal Gold with a 5-4 win over China (Qixuan An, Jiaman Li, Xioalei Yang). Mexico (Angela Ruiz, Alejandra Valencia, Ana Vazquez) eased to a 6-2 win over Netherlands (Quinty Roeffen, Gaby Schloesser, Laura van der Winkel) to seal Bronze. 

Over in the Judo, the Men's -66kg final saw Hifumi Abe (JPN) storm to a 10-0 win over William Lima (BRA) while Denis Vieru (MDA)/ Gusman Kyrgyzbayev (KAZ) collected Bronze with victories over Walide Khyar (FRA)/Strahinja Buncic (SRB). The Women's -52kg Gold was won by Diyora Keldiyorova (UZB) as she defeated Distria Krasniqi (KOS) while Larissa Pimenta (BRA)/Amandine Buchard (FRA) scooped Bronze after wins over Reka Pupp (HUN)/Odette Giuffrida (ITA).

 

Double joy for Japan in the Women's Street Skateboarding as Coco Yoshizawa took Gold ahead of Liz Akama with Rayssa Leal collecting Bronze. 

The Women's Kayak Single Canoe Slalom saw Jessica Fox (AUS) cross for Gold ahead of Klaudia Zwolinska (POL) and Bronze was claimed by GB's Kimberley Woods. 

The biggest atmosphere of the Games so far came in La Defense Arena as home favourite Leon Marchand (FRA) stormed to an Olympic Record time of 4:02.95 in the Men's 400m Individual Medley Swimming final ahead of Tomoyuki Matshuita (JPN) and Carson Foster (USA) with GB's Max Litchfield achingly missing out on the medals by 0.17 seconds in fourth.

Double joy for USA in the Women's 100m Butterfly as Torri Huske touched in ahead of Gretchen Walsh with Yufei Zhang (CHN). Four medals were awarded in the Men's 100m Breaststroke as Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA) won Gold ahead of GB's Adam Peaty/ Nic Fink (USA) who each scooped Silver with Melvin Imoudu (GER) claiming Bronze. 

The Men's Epée Individual Fencing saw Koki Kano (JPN) ease to a 15-9 win over Yannick Borel (FRA) while Mohamed Elsayed (EGY) edged Bronze over Tibor Andrasfi (HUN). The Women's Foil Individual saw an all-USA final with Lee Keifer easing past Lauren Scruggs while Eleanor Harvey (CAN) claimed Bronze with a 15-12 victory over Alice Volpi (ITA). 

Day 3

Day three opened with the Women's 10m Air Rifle Final which saw Hyojin Ban (KOR) win Gold ahead of Yuting Huang (CHN) while Audrey Gogniat (SUI) claimed Bronze. The Men's Final saw Lihao Sheng (CHN) win Gold ahead of Victor Lindgren (SWE) with Miran Maricic (CRO) collecting Bronze. 

The Men's Synchronised 10m Platform Diving saw China (Junjie Lian, Hao Yang) storm to Gold ahead of GB duo Tom Daley/Noah Williams while Canada (Rylan Wiens, Nathan Zsombor-Murray) collected Bronze. 

The Equestrian Jumping Final saw a first Gold for GB (Rosalind Canter, Tom McEwen, Laura Collett) as they outscored France (Nicolas Touzaint, Karim Laghouag, Stephane Landois) who took Silver while Japan (Toshiyuki Tanaka, Kazuma Tomoto, Yohiaski Oiwa, Ryuzo Kitajima) collected Bronze. 

The Individual Jumping Final saw Michael Jung (GER) claim Gold ahead of Christopher Burton (AUS) who sealed Silver and GB's Laura Collett who secured Bronze and fellow Brits Tom McEwen and Rosalind Canter finished fourth and 21st. 

The Cycling Mountain Bike Men's Cross Country saw a thrilling finish as GB's Tom Pidcock edged out Victor Koretzky (FRA) for a second GB Gold of the day with Alan Hatherly (RSA) crossing for Bronze. 

Gold for Republic of Korea (Je Deok Kim, Woojin Kim, Wooseok Lee) after a 5-1 victory over France (Baptiste Addis, Thomas Chirualt, Jean-Charles Valladont) while Turkiye (Mete Gazoz, Berkim Tumer, Abdullah Yildirmis) claimed Bronze after a 6-2 success over  China (Wenchao Kao, Zhongyuan Li, Yan Wang). 

The Women's -57kg Judo saw Christa Deguchi (CAN) ease to a 10-0 success over Mimi Huh (KOR) with Haruka Funakubo (JPN)/ Sarah Cysique (FRA) winning Bronzes with victories of 10-0/11-0 over Rafael Silva (BRA)/ Eteri Liparteliani (GEO). 

Hidayat Heydarov (AZE) stormed to a 10-0 win in the Men's -73kg over Joan-Benjamin Gaba (FRA) while Adil Osmanov (MDA)/Soichi Hashimoto (JPN) sealed Bronzes with 10-0/1-0 wins against Manuel Lombardo (ITA)/Akil Gjakova (KOS).

Japanese Joy in the Men's Street Skateboarding for Yuto Horigome as he outscored USA duo Jagger Eaton who took Silver and Nyjah Huston who collected Bronze. 

The Men's Canoe Slalom Single Final saw the home crowd celebrate Gold for Nicolas Gestin (FRA) ahead of GB's Adam Burgess who took Silver while Matej Benus (SVK) collected Bronze. 

The Men's Artistic Gymnastics Team saw Gold won by Japan (Daiki Hashimoto, Kazuma Kaya, Shinnosuke Oka, Takakki Sugino, Wataru Tanginawa) as they outscored China (Yang Liu, Weide Su, Ruoteng Xiao, Boheng Zhang, Jingyuan Zou) with USA (Asher Hong, Paul Juda, Brody Malone, Stephen Neroscik, Frederick Richard) scooping Bronze and GB (Max Whitclock, Joe Fraser, Jake Jarman, Luke Whitehouse) narrowly missed out on the podium in fourth. 

A busy evening in the pool began with the Women's 400m Individual Medley as Summer McIntosh (CAN) stormed to Gold ahead of USA duo Katie Grimes and Emma Weyant while GB's Freya Colbert and Katie Shanahan finished in fourth and seventh. The Men's 200m Freestyle saw a very tight finish with David Popovici (ROM) touching for Gold just 0.02 ahead of GB's Matthew Richards and then 0.05 seconds back Luke Hobson (USA) with GB's Duncan Scott in fourth. 

Gold for Thomas Ceccon (ITA) in the Men's 100m Backstroke as he finished ahead of Jiayu Xu (CHN) and Ryan Murphy (USA) while GB's Oliver Morgan finished eighth. The Women's 100m Breaststroke saw Tatjana Smith (RSA) win Gold ahead of Qianting Tang (CHN) and Mona McSharry (IRL) while GB's Angharad Evans finished in sixth. 

A huge Olympic Record time of 1:53.27 in the Women's 200m Freestyle by Mollie O'Callaghan (AUS) as she finished ahead of fellow Aussie Ariane Titmus with Siobhan Haughey (HKG) collecting Bronze. 

Double joy for the hosts in the Women's Sabre Individual Fencing with Manon Apithy-Brunet (FRA) edging a 15-12 win over Sara Balzer (FRA) with Olga Kharlan (UKR) scooping Bronze after a 15-14 defeat of Sebin Choi (KOR). 

The Men's Foil Individual saw Ka Long Cheung (HKG) claim Gold with a 15-14 win over Filippo Macchi (ITA) while Nick Itkin (USA) secured Bronze with a 15-12 victory over Kazuki Iimura (JPN). 

Day 4 

 The day began with the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team Shooting as Serbia (Zorana Arnuovic, Damir Mikec) sealed Gold with a 16-14 win over Turkiye (Sevval Tarhan, Yusuf Dikec) while India (Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh) claimed Bronze with a 16-10 success against Republic of Korea (Wonho Lee, Ye Jin Oh). Gold for GB's Nathan Hales in the Men's Trap as he outshot Qi Ying (CHN) and Jean Brol Cardenas (GUA).

The Mixed Doubles Table Tennis saw China (Chuqin Wang, Yingsha Sun) win 4-2 over Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Jong Sik Ri, Kum Yong Kim) while Republic of Korea ( Jonghoon Lim, Yubin Shin) sealed Bronze over Hong Kong (Chun Ting Wong, Hoi Kem Doo). 

Judo resumed with the Men's -81kg which saw Takanori Nagase (JPN) ease to an 11-0 win over Tato Grigalashvili (GEO) while Somon Makhmadbekov (TJK)/Joonhwan Lee (KOR) claimed Bronzes after 10-0/1-0 victories against Antonio Esposito/Matthias Casse (BEL). The Women's -63kg saw Andreja Leski (SLO) storm to a 10-1 win over Prisca Awiti Alcaraz (MEX) with Laura Fazliu (KOS)/Clarisse Agvegnenou (FRA) easing to 10-0 victories against Katarina Kristo (CRO)/ Lubjana Piovesana (AUT). 

Gold for USA (Simone Biles, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee, Hezly Rivera) in the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Team Final as they outscored Italy (Angela Andreoli, Alice D'Amato, Manila Esposito, Elisa Iorio, Giorgia Villa) and Brazil (Rebeca Andrade, Jade Barbosa, Lorrane Oliveira, Flavia Saraiva, Julia Soares) while GBR (Rebecca Downie, Ruby Evans, Georgia-Mae Fenton, Alice Kinsella, Abigail Martin) finished fourth. 

The Women's Rugby Sevens Final saw a comfortable 19-12 win for New Zealand over Canada while USA claimed Bronze with the 14-12 defeat of Australia. 

Gold for Italy (Alberta Santuccio, Giulia Rizzi, Rosella Fiamingo, Mara Navarria) with a 30-29 win over France (Marie-Florence Candassamy, Auraine Mallo-Breton, Coraline Vitalis, Alexandra Louis-Marie). Poland (Aleksandra Jarecka, Martyna Swatowska-Wenglarczyk, Renata Knapik-Mizaga) sealed Bronze with a 32-31 success against China (Yiwen Sun, Nuo Xu, Sihan Yu).

An Olympic Record time of 57.33 for Kaylee McKeown (AUS) as she touched ahead of USA duo Regan Smith and Katharine Berkoff. The Men's 800m Freestyle also saw an Olympic Record as Daniel Wiffen (IRL) crossed in 7:38.19 ahead of Bobby Finke (USA) and Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA). 

The evening ended with Gold for GB (James Guy, Tom Dean, Matthew Richards, Duncan Scott) in the Men's 4 x 200m Freestyle ahead of USA ( Luke Hobson, Carson Foster, Drew Kibler, Kieran Smith) while Australia ( Maximillian Giuliani, Flynn Southam, Elijah Winnington, Thomas Neill) claimed Bronze.