The flags of 184 teams will be flown during the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
Beneath the Australian flag, 160 athletes will compete across 17 sports, among them 39 from the Victorian Institute of Sport.
In all, 22 sports – and 23 disciplines, cycling having road and track competitions – will be contested. We can expect Australians to feature prominently across the 12 days of competition.
The Steelers, wheelchair rugby’s world champions in 2023, are out to confirm their status as the best team in the world.
Michal Burian will be trying to turn Tokyo silver into Paris gold in the javelin and Reece Langdon, on his Paralympic debut, is set on winning track gold in the men’s T38 1500m.
Emily Petricola is the hot favourite for gold in cycling’s individual pursuit but wants a golden double with victory on the road in the individual time trial.
Like the Olympic Games which precede them, the Paralympic Games are a compelling carnival of sport. Take joy in watching the Australians compete, and special pleasure in those who have trained out of the VIS.
Imagine what they can do.
Below is a start to your VIS Paralympic Games viewing guide:
Michal Burian: silver medallist in the F44 javelin at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games who won silver again at the 2023 World Para Athletic Championships.
Reece Langdon: Australian T38 800m and 1500m champion and silver medallist in the 1500m at the 2023 World Para Athletic Championships. Paralympic debut.
Col Pearse: two-time Paralympian swimmer at just 21 years of age in the S10 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley. Bronze medallist in the 100m butterfly at the Tokyo Paralympic Games.
Ahmed Kelly: competing at his fourth Paralympic Games, Kelly will be swimming in the men’s SM3 150m individual medley.
Lina Lei: sixth Paralympic Games for the legendary Chinese-born Australian who won gold in Athens, Beijing and London and silver in Rio in the Class 9 women’s singles. Won singles gold again at the 2022 Para World Championships.
Ma Lin: fourth Paralympic Games campaign for Lin, who has won four gold and three silver Class 9 Paralympic medals across a great career representing China and Australia.
The Steelers: Shae Graham, Ben Fawcett and James McQuillan are longstanding members of arguably the best wheelchair rugby team in the world. The Steelers won gold in Rio in 2016 and the World Cup in 2023 but missed the podium in Tokyo.
Jaryd Clifford: champion middle-distance and marathon runner who will be racing at his second Paralympic Games. Won two silver and a bronze at the Tokyo Paralympic Games and won two gold at the 2019 world championships in Dubai, where he broke the T12 1500m world record.
Emily Petricola: second Paralympic Games campaign for the four-time individual pursuit para world champion. Won gold with a world record in the individual pursuit at the Tokyo Paralympic Games and won silver in the Time Trial. Is after a golden double in Paris.
Maria Strong: won bronze in women's F33 shot put at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and a gold medal in the women’s 100m T72 frame running and a silver medal in the women's F33 shot put at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships.
Jalen Brown: 19-year-old making his Paralympic debut with the Rollers, the Australian wheelchair basketball team.
Sam McIntosh: fourth Paralympic Games for the Ocean Grove local who will be chasing a medal in the T52 100m and 400m after a string of near misses over his career.
Jeremy Peacock: triathlete ranked top five in the world in the PTS4 class. Claimed bronze at the 2022 world para triathlon championships.
Justin Godfrey: 50 year-old who is a three-time world para-triathlon gold medallist and two-time world para cross triathlon gold medallist. A definite contender in the Men’s PTS3 class, which has been admitted to the Games for the first time.
Alistair Donohoe: will it be third time lucky for the Australian who has two C4-5 silver and a bronze from Paralympic campaigns in Tokyo and Rio but is after gold. Especially in the road race, the event in which he has been a three-time world champion.
VIS staff assisting the Australian Paralympic Campaign:
| Eloise Boyle – athlete wellbeing |
| Sam Wells – performance analyst |
| Shane Kelly – cycling coach |
| Kylie Andrew - dietitian |
| Siobhan Crawshay – performance services |
| Amber Bennett - physiotherapist |
| Rachael Lynch - nurse |
| Alice McNamara – sports physician |
| Ash Gillespie – media |
| Dave Crosbee – research and strategy development |
| Milli Bilson – performance analyst Peter Browne - performance analyst Aaron Balloch - movement science |
Where and when to watch:
The Nine Network has exclusive broadcast rights to the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Across the network, there will be more than 300 hours of Paralympics coverage beamed out of the French capital, with 14 hours a day of live coverage across Channel 9, 9Now and 9Gem from the opening ceremony on August 28 to the closing ceremony on September 8.
For a sport-by-sport Paralympic Games schedule click here.
