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2024 Paralympic Games begin August 28: Here’s how to watch

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2024 Paralympic Games begin August 28: Here’s how to watch

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Are you ready to see some of the most inspiring displays of athleticism in 2024?

Then you’re in luck because the Paralympic Games begin Aug. 28 and run through Sept. 8.

The Paralympics, like the Olympic Games, occur every two years, and alternate between summer and winter. This means the summer and winter Paralympics each occur every four years. According to the Olympics website, the Olympics and the Paralympics have occurred in the same city and at the same venue since the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

But before we dive into the details of the Paralympics, let’s break down what the Paralympics actually are.

What are the Paralympics

The Paralympics is an athletic competition consisting of different sports and events performed by athletes with eligible impairments. According to the International Paralympic Committee, eligible impairments include: impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of motion, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment, and intellectual impairments.

Athletes are classified by the International Paralymic Committee through an series of evaluations. “In para sports, athletes are grouped by the degree of activity limitation resulting from the impairment. This, to a certain extent, is similar to grouping athletes by age, gender and weight.”

As many as 4,400 athletes from across the world will travel to this year’s Paris Paralympics to compete, according to the Paralympics website.

When are the 2024 Paralympics opening ceremonies

The opening ceremonies are scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday, Aug. 28, at the Place de la Concorde in Paris. More than 65,000 spectators are expected at the opening ceremonies.

You can watch coverage of the opening ceremonies by tuning into either USA Network or the NBC streaming service Peacock.

How to watch the Paralympics

To watch the various athletic events of the Paralympics, you can stream them live on Peacock or watch on them on CNBC, NBC or the USA Network.

USA Network will provide at least nine hours of coverage every weekday beginning August 29. CNBC will show live programming each weekend throughout the Games. Peacock will be the streaming home of the Paralympics, providing extensive coverage of the Games, with approximately 1,500 hours of live coverage across all sports.

What is boccia and goalball

Of the 22 Paralympic sports, only two don’t have an Olympic equivalent.

Boccia is a sport where players throw, kick or roll colored balls as close as possible to a white target ball. The player, pair or team that gets the most balls closest to the target ball wins. It shares similarities with the French game, Petanque.

Goalball is played by blind or vision-impaired athletes, goalball is a team sport where players score points by throwing balls past defending players and into a net in order to score points.

What sports are in the Paralympics

In addition to boccia and goalball, the following round out the 22 Paralympic sports:

  • Para athletics: consists of short-distance and long-distance running, racing, long jump and high jump events, discus, javelin, shot-put and club throw.
  • Para archery
  • Para badminton
  • Para canoe
  • Para cycling
  • Para equestrian
  • Para judo
  • Para powerlifting
  • Para rowing
  • Para swimming
  • Para table tennis
  • Para triathlon
  • Wheelchair rugby
  • Wheelchair tennis
  • Para taekwondo
  • Shooting para sport
  • Sitting volleyball
  • Wheelchair fencing
  • Wheelchair basketball

Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@gannett.com.

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