The Olympics may be over, but the Paralympics offer a second helping of the thrill of watching some of the world’s best athletes go head to head.

With the Paralympics kicking off this week, here is everything you need to know.

When is it?

In Paris local time, the Paralympics will run from August 28 to September 8.

In Australia, this means viewers can watch the opening ceremony at 4am on Thursday (AEST).

Where to watch and listen?

Just like the Olympics, Nine Network and Stan Sport are the official broadcasters of the Paris Paralympics in Australia.

Australians will be able to watch every moment for free on Nine’s main TV channel, as well as 9Gem and its streaming platform 9Now.

Stan Sport, a $15-a-month addition to Stan subscriptions, will also stream events ad-free, live and on-demand for subscribers.

Across the Nine Network, there will be more than 300 hours of Paralympics coverage; Dylan Alcott, Sylvia Jeffreys, Ellie Cole, James Bracey, Blake Cochrane, Todd Woodbridge, Roz Kelly and Kurt Fearnley have been tapped to lead it.

Nine’s partnership with ABC means the ABC Local Radio network will broadcast the Paralympics to listeners in Adelaide, Darwin, Hobart and Canberra, as well as across regional, rural and remote regions.

How many events and athletes will be involved?

More than 4400 athletes from around the world will compete in 549 medal events across 22 sports throughout the Paralympics.

Just like the Olympics, athletes who place on the podium will receive medals that incorporate a piece of original iron from the Eiffel Tower.

Designed to be distinguished by touch, the medals will include engravings and Braille.

Who to watch out for

Australia, which has competed at every Paralympic Games since the first in Rome in 1960, will be represented by 160 athletes; 152 athletes with an impairment, two athletics guides, two boccia ramp operators, two cycling pilots, one triathlon guide and one rowing coxswain.

These Australian Paralympians include:

• Sixty one debutants
• Ninety nine returning Paralympians
• Four Indigenous athletes; Samantha Schmidt (athletics), Ruby Storm (swimming), Amanda Reid (cycling) and Telaya Blacksmith (athletics).

Australia left Tokyo 2020 with 80 Paralympic medals: 21 gold, 29 silver, and 30 bronze.

This almost replicated the country’s 81-medal haul from Rio 2016, and there are strong hopes for similar results this year.

Two-time gold medallist Madison de Rozario is one of the biggest Australian Paralympic names to look out for as the reigning champion in the marathon T54 and 800-metre T53.

She will be the opening ceremony flag bearer alongside swimmer Brenden Hall, a fellow seasoned Paralympian.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Madison de Rozario (@madison.____)

Another returning Paralympian is Chris Bond, a wheelchair rugby star who lost his left hand, right fingers and legs below the knees to a bacterial infection at age 19 after battling acute promyelocytic leukaemia.

Years of hard work have since seen him become one of the best wheelchair rugby players in the world, and the two-time Paralympic gold medallist will captain Australia’s Paralympic rugby team this year.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Brent Winstone (@brentwinstone)

One of Australia’s most anticipated debutants this year is former triathlete Alexa Leary, who will make her para swimming debut in Paris after a horror cycling crash left her with significant brain damage in 2021.

Having already developed significantly as a swimmer as part of her triathlon training, Leary turned to the pool full-time following her accident.

Leary won gold in the 100-metre freestyle S9 and silver in the 50-metre freestyle S9 at her first major para-swimming event at the 2023 World Championships.

Hopes are high for her winning streak to continue in Paris.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by L E X 💫 (@alexa_leary)

What Paralympic sports aren’t in the Olympics?

The Paralympics will feature versions of many of the sports we know and love from the Olympics, such as blind football and wheelchair rugby.

But the Paralympics will also feature two sports that do not have Olympic counterparts: Boccia and goalball.

Boccia is a bowls-like sport played by athletes in wheelchairs with motor impairments, while goalball features two teams of three players with visual impairments trying to roll a solid ball into the opposing goal.

Time for some boccia! 🔵⚪🔴

Find out more about this Paralympic sport in our Sport Explainer guide.

Presented by Worldwide Paralympic Insurance Partner @allianz and @Paris2024. #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/o1bfItFZPI

— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 2, 2024

A Paralympic exclusive game 🔵

In this episode of Sport Explainers, presented by Worldwide Paralympic Insurance Partner @Allianz and @Paris2024, we learn more about #Goalball, a game exclusive to the #Paralympics.@ibsagoalball pic.twitter.com/f1BuwzWeCt

— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 9, 2024

What are Paralympic classifications?

The Paralympic classification system was designed to guarantee fair competition between athletes.

Paralympians all go through the classification process before taking part in a Paralympic competition, during which they are assessed and allocated a sport class corresponding to the degree and nature of their eligible impairments.

The classifications are designated by a letter (typically the sport’s initial, such as ‘S’ for swimming) and a number.

The lower the number, the greater the impairment – though this is not always the case.

In some sports, athletes with different impairments may compete against one other as sport classes are allocated based on the impact the impairment has on the sport, rather than on the impairment itself.

For example, para swimming has three classification letter combinations:

• S (swimming): Butterfly, backstroke, crawl
• SB (Swimming breaststroke): Breaststroke
• SM (Swimming Multi): Multi-swimming events.

Physical swimming classifications range from one to 10; the greater the number, the less severe the athlete’s limitations.

Visual swimming classification numbers range from 11 to 14:

• 11: Athletes with extremely low visual acuity and/or no light perception. Swimmers must wear blackened goggles during races to ensure fair competition
• 12: Athletes with a higher visual acuity than athletes competing in the 11 sport class and/or a visual field of less than 10 degrees
• 13: Athletes with the least severe vision impairment eligible for Paralympic sport. They have the highest visual acuity and/or a visual field of less than 40 degrees
• 14: Intellectual impairment.

With all of these factors combined, an example of a para swimming event is the 100-metre SB14.

For a full list of categories across the different Paralympic sports, click here.