All eyes are back on the French capital as the Paralympics kicked off this morning with another stunning outdoor opening ceremony in central Paris. This time, the athletes weren’t sailing down the Seine, but nearly 4,400 of them from 164 nations paraded down the iconic Champs-Elysées before culminating at the iconic Place de la Concorde in front of 65,000 spectators. Leading our delegation as flagbearers were veteran para-athlete Madison de Rozario and para-swimmer Brenden Hall, both competing in their fifth Paralympics.

Give me the lowdown… 

It’s the first time France has hosted a Paralympics and it will be similar to the Olympics, with many of the iconic venues being repurposed over 11 days of competition. That includes the Grand Palais (aka the exhibition building with the glass roof) for Wheelchair Fencing and Para-taekwondo, the Equestrian events will be in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, and the Blind Football will be played in front of the Eiffel Tower. And hold your nose while upping the preventative antibiotics – the “stinky Seine” could strike again as the Para-triathlon will be held in the grey waters we came to know earlier this month… And for the Aussies who make it to the medals, they’ll win prize money for the first time, with $20,000 going for a gold. That brings competitors into line with Olympians after the Aussie Government decided to chip in. 

Who am I watching out for?

We’ll have 160 para-athletes competing in 17 events, including big names like Wheelchair Racing champ Angie Ballard who’ll make her seventh appearance, and Para-athletics competitor Jaryd Clifford who’s hungry for gold after taking 2 silver and a bronze medal in Tokyo. There are great expectations for our swimmers once again, with 30 of our finest taking to the pool… They include 3-time gold medallist Brenden Hall, Alexa Leary, Ahmed Kelly and Grant Patterson. And with day one of the competition featuring medal events in Para-Cycling and Para-Swimming, we could soon feel the gold rush… Also look out for the preliminary mixed-gender Wheelchair Rugby (aka “murderball”…) with Australia taking on Great Britain at 7.30pm Aussie Eastern time tonight. All the action is on Nine. 

To be forewarned is to be forearmed: our Squiz Shortcut on these Paralympic Games will be out later today.