Paralympics highlights: A gold won in silence, manifesting dreams, and lessons for L.A.

The Paralympics in Paris brought us powerful, important and surprising stories.

The Athletic’s Charlotte Harpur was there and now she brings you her most memorable moments and takeaways from the Games, while also looking forward to the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

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Best moment: France vs Argentina, blind football final

The shouts of “Allez Les Bleus” could be heard outside the stadium at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. There was not an empty seat. And yet every temptation to cheer, every “Oooh” and “Ahhh” as the players shot or clattered into one another were punctuated with whispers of “Shhhhhh”.

The crowd must stay silent because the blind players rely on hearing the rattle of the football and communication from the team’s guide behind the goal. The juxtaposition of furore when France scored with the silence was immense.

You could hear a pin drop when each penalty was taken, but when Argentina missed, the home crowd erupted, the stands trembled. This moment encapsulated what it meant to the French to host the Games. Singing La Marseillaise, the French anthem, to celebrate a gold with the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night; it does not get much better than that.

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Standout performance: Ezra Frech double gold in the T63 100m and T63 high jump

Ezra Frech was not expected to win the 100m T63. The main focus was the high jump — he even posted a countdown for that event on social media which reads: “Day X of 100 until I win Paralympic gold.”

But ahead of schedule, on day 99, he won the 100m gold by 0.02 seconds and a photo finish. Less than 24 hours later, he claimed the high jump, breaking a Paralympic record. He manifested his dream into a reality.

The performance was memorable because, after the race, his parents shared with me his incredible story from 0 to 19 years old. I witnessed all of the emotions as they hugged Frech outside a deserted Stade de France in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

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Biggest surprise: Jurgen Klopp watching Wojtek Czyz at para-badminton

I like a plan but sometimes you have to pivot. If you had said a former Premier League-winning manager would be at the Paralympics, I wouldn’t have believed you. But there he was, in the stands, eating Haribo sweets, cheering on Czyz, his friend for over 20 years, play Great Britain’s Daniel Bethell.

What was less surprising was that Klopp had not changed one bit. He shouted “Well done” to Bethell, who beat Czyz, as he left the court, a touch of class, and his broad smile and booming voice lit up the first day of Paralympic action.

That was not the only surprise in para-badminton. Svetlana Shabalina, a teacher from Dnipro, Ukraine, surprised her former pupil and orphan Oksana Kozyna, who had no idea she was watching.

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Most memorable quotes

Goodness, there are too many. All of the below are reported here by The Athletic…

Great Britain’s Jodie Grinham became the first pregnant athlete to medal at the Paralympics after she won bronze in archery (individual women’s compound): “Baby hasn’t stopped kicking, it’s almost like baby’s going ‘What’s going on, it’s really loud, mummy what are you doing’. But it has been a lovely reminder of the support bubble I have in my belly.”

Valentina Petrillo after not qualifying for the 400m T12 final: “I hope my son is proud of me,” Petrillo said, beginning to cry. “That’s important to me because I’m a trans dad; it’s not everyone’s dream dad. I hope he will always stand by me, I hope that he loves me even if I am like this. I can’t help it if I’m like this, I’m sorry. Don’t treat trans people badly. We suffer. It’s not fair. We don’t hurt anybody.”

Oksana Masters after winning the women’s H5 road race, her second gold in two days: “I feel like I’m on cloud nine. I feel dizzy. I have to pee! I’m so excited, all the emotions right now.”

It was her 19th Paralympic medal and when asked where she keeps them all, she said: “I love socks, so I store them (medals) in socks. Of course, the girl with no legs loves socks! I keep it safe because I’m a klutz and I broke my first medal.”

I had read about her horrific but inspiring story, but when I spoke to her in person, I was stunned by her charisma and infectious personality.

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Biggest disappointment

You can only be in one place at one time, so I was disappointed not to see any goalball or wheelchair rugby, also known as murder ball. (But they are on my list for next time.)

Missing out on tasting the famous chocolate muffin from the Olympic and Paralympic village was a blow, but I had a flight to catch.

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Best social post: Chuck Aoki

USA wheelchair rugby team captain Chuck Aoki reposted this photo with the caption: “I used to be so ashamed of my hands.”

Well, those hands are now holding a silver medal.

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Best photo: Sheetal Devi

The arresting photo of armless archer Sheetal Devi aiming in the para-archery.

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Favourite celebration: Tokito Oda 

Tokito Oda, 18, dismantling his wheelchair, finally allowing his back to lie on the red clay of Roland Garros.

One for the history books… 🥇🇯🇵 @odatokito | #Paris2024 #Paralympics | #WheelchairTennis pic.twitter.com/33FDVdBsl8

— ITF (@ITFTennis) September 7, 2024

Italian Bebe Vio’s video of her running through security to celebrate her individual bronze medal also made me chuckle.

“And for the LA28games, hurdles,” she wrote.

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The thing I learned: Society’s role in making life accessible for disabled people

There are two key barriers that, if removed, would transform disabled people’s lives: society’s perception of them and accessibility.

All disabled people want is to be accepted and go about their daily lives. They do not have control of those two factors, but society does.

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Lessons for LA 2028: Watch out for the United States

The U.S. have been described as the sleeping giant given their lack of investment in Paralympic sports, but with Los Angeles 2028 on the horizon, that giant will be stirred. 

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The Paralympics medal table

(Top photos: Getty Images)