Paris 2024: Para athletics set to wow fans at Stade de France

USA star Hunter Woodhall said it best in the build-up to the Para athletics in Paris - prepare to be amazed.

Athletes from across the world have targeted gold medals and world records at the iconic Stade de France venue.

Para athletics has been a key part of the Games since javelin throwing took place at Stoke Mandeville, and the programme was added to and expanded for the very first Paralympic Games, Rome 1960.

Now it is the largest sport at Paris 2024 - up to 1,069 athletes will compete across 164 medal events, from the 100m to the marathon, plus all the throwing and jumping events.

Historically, the USA have dominated Para athletics. They top the all-time medal table with an astonishing 1,142 medals, 385 of them gold. Great Britain are second with 572 medals, 213 gold, and Canada third, with 534 medals, 200 of them gold.

At the last five Paralympics – since Athens 2004 – China have been the most successful nation, however. At Tokyo 2020, they topped the medal table with 51 medals, including 27 gold.

The events will take place between 30 August and 8 September, and promise some of the most exciting scenes in the French capital. 

Five stories to follow...

Durand to extend mammoth unbeaten run? 

Cuba’s Omara Durand made her Paralympic debut at Beijing 2008, running the T13 100m, 200m and 400m, but missing the podium in all three. Since then, she hasn’t lost a race at the Paralympics. Durand has become a legend by getting gold in two distances at London 2012, and all three at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. 

Can she keep the success rolling? She has been training as hard as ever – always making sure that sport is fun, too. 

“We make this time that is so exhausting and sacrificial as pleasant as possible by making jokes while still putting seriousness to the work,” she said in a recent interview about her training. Don’t bet against her completing an astonishing series of four-in-a-row gold medals.

Italian legend Caironi stars at fourth Games

Italian 100m superstar Martina Caironi has gathered two gold and three silver medals since making her Paralympic debut at London 2012. Now she enters her fourth Paralympic Games full of optimism, but relaxed. 

At Tokyo 2020, Caironi took silver in the women’s 100m T63 behind compatriot Ambra Sabatini, with Monica Graziana Contrafatto wrapping up the podium. Photos and videos of the three athletes competing in the pouring rain and celebrating by striking the famous pose from the film Charlie’s Angels went viral on social media and stole hearts of sports fans in Italy and beyond.

Do not miss out on the Charlies’ Angels racing again at the Stade de France.

Will Swiss athletes dominate wheelchair racing?

Switzerland is a huge wheelchair racing powerhouse. At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Marcel Hug, Catherine Debrunner and Manuela Schaer picked up a total of 11 medals, including seven gold. How will Swiss wheelchair racing athletes do in Paris? 

There will also be plenty of athletes to watch out for. Madison de Rozario, who is Australia’s flagbearer in the Opening Ceremony, is looking to defend her titles in the women’s marathon T54 and 800m T53 at her fifth Games. Noemi Alphonse is a rising star of the women’s T54 division, becoming the first Mauritian to compete in a Paralympic final.

Onye marks! Nigerian shot put ace ready to realise dreams 

Game Changers: Meet Lauritta Onye, the Nigerian Para Athletics Star💫

Shot putter Lauritta Onye is famous in Nigeria for more than just Para sport - she’s also a film star in the ‘Nollywood’ industry.

This summer, though, it’s all about athletics. She has won two medals – a gold and a bronze – across two Games and will be searching for her third medal in Paris. 

“Para sport has changed my life,” she said. “It has given me moral, physical and even spiritual strength. For Paris, I will train well. I will put some prayers, but you need to work. Nothing falls from heaven. You got to work, work, work.”

Can hip hopper Adolphe record greatest hit?

Among the host nation’s hottest hopes is Timothee Adolphe, the silver medallist in the men’s 100m T11 from Tokyo 2020. Adolphe is a six-time World Championship medallist and will be full of confidence. 

He will also be life and soul of the party, should France do well, he is a part-time rapper who released his first hip-hop EP in 2020. 

🚨 Eyes on the Prize: 🏃‍♀️ Para Athletics Ones to Watch for Paris 2024 Paralympics Revealed! 🚀💫