PARALYMPIC SUMMER GAMES 2024
The 2024 Paralympic Games are just around the corner; the Paralympic flame has been lit and there are just days to go until the Paralympic swimmers start competing at the Arena La Défense. There are many different stories to follow in the 141 events taking place over the ten days of competition, but here are five of the most important ones to keep us busy as the competition gets underway.
The French crowd factor
With no fans in attendance at the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, it was exciting to hear the roar of the crowd at La Défense Arena. The fans played an important role during the nine days of action at the Olympic Games, bringing energy to each session, which was commented on by swimmers of all nationalities.
But understandably, the crowd was loudest when the French athletes competed. If you were watching on TV, you didn’t even have to look at the screen to know when it was a French swimmer’s turn – the crowd let you know. The home crowd had plenty to cheer about, as French swimmers like Leon Marchand And Florent Manaudou had exceptional competitions and used the energy of the crowd while swimming.
The crowds will also be a great motivation for the French para-swimmers when they enter the water next week. The host country has 14 swimmers on its list, including Elodie Lorandiwho has five Paralympic medals, including a gold medal from 2012. Swimmers like Laurent Chardard And Pierre-Eméline hope to stand on the Paralympic podium for the first time after the medals at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. Then there are names Alex Portal (1 silver, 1 bronze) and Ugo Didier (1 silver, 1 bronze), who won a medal in Tokyo and now want to complete their set of medals with gold in front of their home crowd.
World record clock
The Paralympics are undoubtedly the biggest stage in para swimming, but that hasn’t stopped athletes from achieving peak performances during the season. 42 world records have already been broken this year, including 16 at the four-day Berlin edition of the CITI Para Swimming series in June. This peak pace at the start of the season could be a sign of a flood of world records in Paris.
The 200 m individual medley is the discipline with the most world records this year, as seven swimmers have broken their personal best. The German Alexander Pott (SM2), Australia’s Timothy Hodge (SM9), the Netherlands Rogier Dorsman (SM11) and Canada’s Nicholas Bennett (SM14) were the men who broke the world records. Gina Boettcher (SM2), Maisie Summers Newton (SM4) and Daria Lukyanenko (SM11) set the women’s world record.
But in disciplines such as 100 m freestyle and 50 m breaststroke, three men have set world records this season. In Berlin, all three world records in the men’s 50 m breaststroke were swum in the same final, Nelson Crispin Corzo (SB6) Carlos Serrano Zarate (SB7) and Taliso Angel (SB13) each improved the world record of their class and swam 34.95, 31.96 and 28.54 respectively.
Debutants want to make an impression
Even in a shortened Paralympic cycle, the 2022 and 2023 World Para Swimming Championships have seen the emergence of a handful of new stars who are on the verge of making their Paralympic debut.
Swimmers like Alexander Hillhouse (Denmark)Alexa Leary (Australia)William Ellard (Great Britain), And Olivia Chambers (USA) have already etched their names in the world record books. Chambers set her record in the 1500m freestyle (S13, 17:53.84) in 2023, while Hillhouse, Leary and Ellard all set records this year.
After setting three world records at the 2023 World Championships, Hillhouse became the only man to swim for Denmark at the Paralympics to win both the world record in the 200m backstroke and 200m butterfly S14 this year. Ellard broke the record in the 100m freestyle S14 and then equalled the mark in the 200m freestyle S14. Leary, a triathlete turned Para-swimmer, broke the world record in the 100m freestyle S9 in April.
Other debutants to keep an eye on are swimmers like Poppy Maskill And Noah Jaffe, who both won gold at the 2023 World Championships.
Will China’s winning streak in the medal table continue?
China has topped the medal table at the last three Paralympics, both in gold and medals won. They began their reign in London and dominated the Rio Games, winning 92 medals in the 152 pool events, 37 of them gold.
They came back down to earth in Tokyo, where they won 56 medals and defeated the Russian Paralympic Committee by 19 gold medals to 17. Liu Yu, Lu Dong, Ma Jia, And Zheng Tao all won multiple gold medals in Tokyo and China brings another strong team to Paris.
With Russia and Belarus excluded from the Games, Ukraine, Australia and the USA have the best chance of beating China. They all finished in the top five in the medal table during China’s winning streak. Great Britain – which finished third in 2016 – brings a star-studded line-up to Paris. Italy, led by Simone Barlaamalso looks strong; without the participation of China or Russia, they topped the medal table at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. In April, they beat Ukraine to defend their title as European champions.
Another factor in the race for the medal ranking is that there are 141 competitions on the program in Paris, five fewer than at the Paralympics in Tokyo.
Paralympic medalists return to Games after injuries
Big names like Alice Tai, Tess Routliffe, And Morgan Stickney Returning to the Paralympics after battling injuries over the past four years. Tai and Routliffe, who both won medals at the 2016 Paralympics, missed the Tokyo Games entirely due to their injuries.
Tai, who was born with bilateral clubfoot, had to have her right leg amputated below the knee in January 2022 after pain in her foot increased, causing her to miss the Tokyo Paralympics. Routliffe, the silver medallist in the 200m SB7 individual medley in Rio, missed the Games because she fractured her spine during strength training. They returned to international competition at the 2022 World Championships, both winning medals. They won more medals at the 2023 World Championships and are looking strong as they prepare to return to action on the Paralympic stage for the first time since 2016.
The Tokyo Paralympics were Stickney’s international debut, and she won two gold medals, initially defeating her teammate. Jessica Lang in the 400 free S8 then together with her, Hannah Aspen, And Mikaela Jenkins 34 points for the victory in the 4×100 medley relay.
After Tokyo, Stickney struggled with medical complications and now competes in the S7 classification. At the 2023 World Championships, she won gold in the 100 and 400 m freestyle S7, breaking the world record. She set a new world record at the 2024 US Paralympic Trials, where she beat the mark by almost three more seconds with a time of 4:51.50, thus creating good conditions for further successful Paralympics.
