PARIS (AP) — La fin.
The 2024 Paralympic Games end on Sunday bringing the curtain down on a summer celebration of outstanding sporting achievements in Paris.
The French capital will bid adieu with what promises to be another spectacle for the closing ceremony after the Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies, and then the prelude to the Paralympics.
Artistic director Thomas Jolly has promised a giant dance party at Stade de France, the country’s national stadium. The Rouen native has dedicated two and a half years to creating the ceremonies, with much of the preparation taking place at night or in remote locations to maintain a degree of secrecy.
Artists with disabilities and dancers using crutches or wheelchairs will almost certainly feature on the dance floor.
“There will be choreographic sequences that will showcase the body,” Jolly told The Associated Press.
But first the last medals of the Games must be won.
Men and women’s marathons start in the morning, the United States women’s wheelchair basketball team is playing the Netherlands for gold in the afternoon, and there are finals too in para powerlifting, along with five races in para canoe.
Here’s a closer look at what to expect before the party begins at Stade de France:
Marathon day
The Unites States’ most decorated wheelchair racer, Tatyana McFadden, goes for her first gold of these Games in the women’s T54 marathon. The 35-year-old already has a silver from the women’s 100 and bronze from the 4×100 universal relay, but she was disqualified from the 400 on Thursday for wheeling out of her lane.
Switzerland’s Manuela Schaer, who won the 800, will provide a stern challenge in the marathon.
Marcel Hug of Switzerland is the favorite and defending champion in the men’s T54 marathon, though it won’t be a repeat of the clean sweep of golds from the 800, 1500 and 5000 that he won at the last Games in Tokyo. Hug finished on the podium after each of the other races in Paris but is yet to win a gold.
The T54 category is for competitors with spinal cord injuries who use wheelchairs to race and have no leg function along with normal hand and arm function.
There are also men and women’s marathons for racers with visual impairments in the T12 category.
Basketball gold beckons
The United States women’s wheelchair basketball team takes on defending champion Netherlands in the gold-medal game at Bercy Arena.
Rose Hollerman helped the U.S. to its semifinal win over China by scoring 20 points in the 50-47 victory and will be key to the American challenge.
Dutch experience helped seal progress against Canada in their semifinal. The Netherlands also won the last two world championships.
Canada will play China earlier Sunday for the bronze medal.
Pushing limits in powerlifting finals
The drama of para powerlifting reaches a crescendo with four finals — two for men (up to 107kg and over 107kg) and two for women (up to 86kg and over 86kg).
Defending champion and world record holder Folashade Oluwafemiayo will start with a weight of 162kg in the women’s over 86 final — just 3kg less than her best mark from Tbilisi in Georgia in June.
Iran’s Ahmad Aminzadeh is starting with a weight of 253kg in the men’s over 107 final.
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