PARIS (AP) — Competition gets underway at the Paralympic Games in Paris on Thursday, with athletes getting their first medals in four of the 22 scheduled sports.
The first Paralympian medalists will be the track cyclists at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome.
There is a packed day of swimming at Paris La Défense Arena, with a raft of heats in the morning and 15 gold medals on offer throughout the evening — starting with men’s 400 freestyle and concluding with women’s 200 freestyle.
Table tennis bronze medal matches are happening at the South Paris Arena and taekwondo contenders face off in the evening at the glass-roofed Grand Palais just off the famed Champs-Elysées.
Here’s a closer look at what to watch on Day 1 of the Paralympics. A total of 4,400 athletes with physical, visual and intellectual impairments are competing until Sept. 8.
Khudadadi wants to win for Afghan women
Having made history in 2021 in Tokyo, Afghan taekwondo Paralympian Zakia Khudadadi is back to make more.
In Tokyo, she became the first Afghan woman to compete in an international sporting event since the Taliban seized back control of her country as U.S. and NATO troops withdrew following 20 years of war.
In Paris, Khudadadi is competing for the Refugee Paralympic Team, but she sees herself as representing Afghan women who under the Taliban have gradually been stripped of their rights.
“Life for all girls and women in Afghanistan is forbidden. It’s over,” she said. “I’m here to win a medal in Paris for them. I want to show strength to all women and girls in Afghanistan.”
The majestic Grand Palais, with its steel and glass dome, will be the venue for her first-round fight on Thursday morning against Lilisbet Rivero Rodriguez of Cuba in the under 47-kilogram weight class. The medals in that class will be awarded in subsequent bouts Thursday night.
Women rocking wheelchair rugby
Eight women — twice as many as in Tokyo — will star when mixed-gender wheelchair rugby kicks off Thursday with group games that are sure to produce plenty of the rough-and-tumble action that explains why the sport is known to some as “murderball.”
Five of the eight teams have women on their rosters, with Canada, host France and defending champion Britain the only exceptions.
Australia, leading the pack busting gender barriers with a record-breaking three women on its squad, plays Britain in the first match Thursday.
Sarah Adam is set to become the first American woman to play wheelchair rugby at the Paralympics when the U.S. team takes on Canada in the second match.
Adam earned a spot on the national team two years ago and says she intends to “smash” the stereotype that the male-dominated contact-sport “is not for females.”
France plays Denmark and Japan faces Germany in the other group games at Champ de Mars Arena next to the Eiffel Tower.
Teenage history makers
Miles Krajewski and Jayci Simon will make history as Team USA’s first-ever para badminton athletes, and the 19-year-olds hope they can help grow the game back home.
Although they have played together since 2022 the pair have known each other since 2016, when Krajewski’s father convinced Simon to give badminton a try.
They compete in mixed doubles group play at 9:10 a.m. against Indian pair Sivarajan Solaimalai and Nithya Sre Sivan.
The American pair are in action again in the evening at the at the eco-friendly La Chapelle Arena in northern Paris.
The loudest voice?
One voice may be heard above the other fans at La Chapelle’s 8,000-capacity indoor venue.
That’s because former Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp, who is German, will be cheering on his friend Wojtek Czyz when he faces Britain’s Daniel Bethell in men’s badminton.
A former German citizen, the 44-year-old Czyz was a four-time Paralympic champion as a sprinter and long jumper. He now represents his adopted country of New Zealand.
“I simply want to show everyone in New Zealand and beyond what is possible,” Czyz said on New Zealand’s Paralympic website. “I’m really looking forward to inspiring the next generation and helping New Zealand to grow new athletes in Para sport.”
The 57-year-old Klopp left Liverpool at the end of last season in an emotional farewell to the fans who loved his exuberant character, toothy smile and touchline rants. Klopp led Liverpool to seven major trophies, including a British-record sixth Champions League title.
Riding to glory
The first gold medals of the Paralympics will be decided in the women’s 500-meter time trial, scheduled to start at 3:45 p.m. local time. That’s followed by both the men’s and women’s 3,000-meter individual pursuit, before the day ends with the men’s 4000-meter individual pursuit.
Races take place at the the National Velodrome, the flagship of the French Cycling Federation located just outside of Paris.
Water concerns
The Olympic triathlon was plagued by concerns about the Seine River’s water quality and they may resurface at the Paralympic Games.
Team USA para triathlete Allysa Seely said competitors are somewhat in the dark about what might happen.
“They told us about a month ago that they could potentially be changing the swim course,” the 35-year-old Seely said. “Once we get that information, it will be a lot easier to plan for the race.”
The competition for Sept. 1-2 at Alexandre III bridge with medals awarded in 10 classifications. An update about water quality test results was expected in the coming days.
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Associated Press Writer John Leicester in Paris contributed. ___
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