The 2024 Paralympic Games officially kick off today with a ceremony in the streets of Paris that will celebrate sport and inclusion. Starting at 3 p.m. (Brasilia time), the opening will take place with a parade of some 4,400 athletes as one of the main events.
The athletes will march down the famous Champs-Élysées avenue to the Place de la Concorde in the centre of the French capital. There are 182 delegations, each headed by flag bearers, who in the case of Brazil will be Beth Gomes, in athletics, and Gabriel Araújo, in swimming.
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Beth, 59, is a shot putter and discus thrower in the F53 category, for athletes who compete in a seated position. In Tokyo 2020, she won the gold medal, the same medal she obtained at the Parapan American Games in Lima 2019, and in May of this year she won the discus event again at the World Championships in Kobe (Japan).
“It’s a great feeling, a realisation. All of us Paralympic athletes dream of this day. To receive the news that I would be the athlete to carry the flag of our country was very emotional, tears were shed,” said Beth, who was a volleyball player in 1993 when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Parece que terminou, não é? Mas aqui no #NossoMundo, o fim é um novo começo. Os Jogos Paralímpicos vem aí! A partir do dia 28 de agosto, você curte tudo aqui no @sportv, com uma cobertura super especial. 🇧🇷🏅#ParalimpíadasNoSportv #oMelhorDeNós #BrasilParalímpico pic.twitter.com/vclWgsoIzt
— Comitê Paralímpico Brasileiro (@BraParalimpico) August 11, 2024
Gabriel dos Santos Araujo, 22, is looking to repeat in Paris 2024 what he did in Tokyo 2022, when he won two gold medals (200-meter freestyle and 50-meter backstroke) and one silver (100-meter backstroke). He competes in the category for athletes with physical-motor disabilities.
Gabrielzinho, as he is known, was born with phocomelia, a malformation caused by the arrest of development of one or more limbs during pregnancy. In his case, he has stumps on his shoulders and atrophied legs, but can walk on both feet.
“I am happy to represent Brazil in the competition and all the athletes at the opening. It is a privilege that makes me very happy. I was thrilled when I heard the news. It is an honour that only a few can achieve,” said the swimmer, in statements reproduced by the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB).
