PARIS (AP) — It’s almost time to say goodbye.
After years of planning and months of hype, the Olympic and Paralympic journey of the city of Paris is almost over as the 2024 Paralympic Games enter their final weekend.
But there is still plenty to see, with team finals and medals awarded in 13 sports on Saturday. Here’s a look at some of the highlights.
Wheelchair Basketball
A matchup of the undefeated will decide the gold medal in men’s wheelchair basketball, as the United States takes on Britain in the last event scheduled on Saturday.
Each team held its semifinal opponent to 43 points on Thursday, with Britain scoring 71 on Germany and the Americans reaching 80 against Canada.
Brian Bell has had back-to-back double-doubles for the Americans and Gregg Warburton led the way for Britain with 35 points. Team USA head coach Robb Taylor said the two squads know each other “very well.”
With a win, the United States would collect its third straight gold medal, while Britain would win its first gold in the sport. It’s also Britain’s first gold-medal game appearance since 1996.
Blind Football
Spoiler alert: The winner of blind football will not be Brazil, the champion in every other Paralympics since 2004. They will have to settle for the bronze medal match against Colombia.
Brazil lost to rival Argentina on penalty kicks in the semifinals. France awaits Argentina in the gold medal match after defeating Colombia 1-0.
Argentina has made it to the final despite only scoring one goal in regulation through the entire Paralympics. It came from Osvaldo Fernandez in Argentina’s final group match against Japan.
The reigning Para PanAmerican champions look to deny the host nation a victory at Eiffel Tower Stadium on Saturday evening.
One more medal?
Jessica Long already struck gold in Paris. With one more race on Saturday, in the S8 100-meter butterfly, she has a chance to add to her staggering total.
Long’s Paralympic career started when she was 12 and won three gold medals at the 2004 Athens Games. Now, 20 years later, her podium finish on Wednesday marked her 30th career medal. As one of the most decorated swimmers from the United States, Long has inspired others and grown the sport.
The S8 classification is for swimmers with the absence of limbs.
Au Revoir!
It’s been a long ride for the French fans.
The Olympics began here on July 26 as vacation season started and now children are back in school.
Throughout the Paralympics, French fans have been showing up in droves and giving the kind of spirited support that caught the world’s attention a month ago. French athletes will hope to see stands filled once more on the final weekend of competition.
The 2024 Paralympic Games have sold more than 2.4 million tickets as of Friday, according to Paris 2024 organizers. This puts it at No. 2 all time in terms of ticket sales for a Paralympic Games, second only to London’s 2.7 million in 2012.
The question is whether fatigue will creep in now or whether the Paralympics will go out on a high note.
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Jack Rachinsky, Amanda Vogt and Anna Licastro each contributed to this report. They and Avery Hill all are students in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.
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AP Paralympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games
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