What to know for the start of the Paralympic Games

The summer of games is not over.

After what might be considered the first true post-Covid Olympics, the Paralympic Games are set to take place in Paris beginning Wednesday, running for 11 days through Sept. 8.

Here’s what to keep an eye on during the opening ceremony, including the biggest American stars competing over the first few days of the Games.

Many paralympic events are classified based on an athlete’s impairment such as T/S11 (athletes with extremely low visual acuity and/or no light perception ) and T/S37 (ambulant events for athletes with a movement disorder, including cerebral palsy).

Opening ceremony

The battle for the 549 gold medals up for grabs begins Wednesday with a historic opening ceremony. For the first time, the festivities will not take place in a stadium.

Instead, competitors from over 180 countries will stroll down the Champs-Élysées to Place de la Concorde, while the public can watch along Paris’ most famous thoroughfare.

The ceremony will include a variety of performers with disabilities, and the cobblestones of the Champs-Élysées have even been temporarily covered with a layer of asphalt to better accommodate the Paralympic athletes.

The opening ceremony will air live on USA at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, and an enhanced encore will also air on NBC at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Day 1

Preliminaries begin in wheelchair rugby as well as men’s wheelchair basketball. The U.S. men are attempting to become the first team to win three-straight gold medals in wheelchair basketball.

The rugby team is looking to win its first gold medal since Beijing in 2008. Sarah Adam will make history as the first woman to compete for the team.

Also taking place will be the finals in both the women’s 50-meter freestyle and women’s 100-meter butterfly. American Ellie Marks won silver in the 50-meter in Tokyo and will race again in Paris. In the 100-meter butterfly, American Grace Nuhfer is making her Paralympic debut and will be tasked with trying to take down Italy’s Carlotta Gilli, who has recently dominated the event in other competitions.

Day 2

Prelims begin in women’s sitting volleyball and women’s wheelchair basketball, while men’s goalball prelims continue with U.S. beginning competition. There are also three finals to watch for: the women’s 400-meter freestyle S11, the women’s 100-meter backstroke and, on the track, the women’s 200-meter T37.

The USA women’s wheelchair basketball team is looking for its third-straight medal in the event, winning gold in Rio and bronze in Tokyo. The sitting volleyball team, however, is looking for its third-straight gold.

Goalball has a chance to become your new favorite sport. It’s a competition for the visually impaired, who wear blindfolds and try to score a ball into their opponent’s net while using their whole bodies to defend. The ball has a bell in it for the athletes to hear, and it’s a spirited game combining elements of dodgeball, bowling and soccer. It doesn’t have an Olympic equivalent.

The U.S. men’s goalball team is trying to get back on the podium after finishing fourth in Tokyo.

On the track, Americans Jaleen Roberts and Taylor Swanson will compete in the 200 meters.

In the pool, Anastasia Pagonis and Gia Pergolini, both current world-record holders, will defend their gold medals in the 400-meter freestyle S11 and 100-meter backstroke, respectively.

Day 3

The third day of the Paralympics is loaded, with sevens finals featuring Americans.

Susannah Scaroni will defend her gold in the women’s 5,000-meter T54, her fourth time competing in the event in the Paralympics.

In the men’s 100-meter T38, three Americans will square off: Jaydin Blackwell, Ryan Medrano and Nick Mayhugh. Blackwell, 20, is making his Paralympic debut but is the favorite in the race after putting up dominant times in multiple world championship events leading up to Paris. Mayhugh has represented his country in soccer but took up sprinting during that sport’s offseason. Noah Malone will also be on the track after winning three medals in Tokyo, competing in the men’s 100-meter T12 final.

In the women’s 100-meter backstroke S8, Jessica Long will be competing in her sixth Paralympics. She’s medaled four straight times in the event but has never finished first.

Elsewhere, Olivia Chambers will swim the women’s 400-meter freestyle S13, 19-year-old Ezra French will compete in men’s long jump T63, and three Americans will race in the women’s 200-meter IM SM7: Mallory Weggemann, Julia Gaffney and Morgan Stickney.

Looking Ahead

• Hunter Woodhall, the husband of Olympic gold medalist Tara Woodhall-Davis, will compete in the men’s 100-meter T64 and the 400-meter T62
• Italy’s Valentina Petrillo will make history at 50 years old as the first transgender woman to compete in the Paralympic games when she races in the women’s 200-meter T12 as well as the 400-meter T12.
• Oksana Masters has won 17 medals across three Paralympic sports — skiing, rowing and para-cycling. She will compete in para-cycling in Paris in what will be her seventh appearance at the Games.