Author: News Desk

Channel 4 has been accused of ‘disrespecting’ Paralympians during their coverage of the Paris 2024 opening ceremony. A colourful and vibrant opening ceremony kick-started the Paris Paralympics on Wednesday night, with around 4,400 athletes making their way along the Champs-Elysees to Place de la Concorde. Like the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, which saw teams taken along the River Seine in boats, the evening’s event also took place outside of a stadium for the first time. Approximately 65,000 people attended the opening ceremony and watched on as planes from the Patrouille de France released blue, white and red smoke into the…

The Paralympic Games are set to continue a summer of sporting excellence. Thousand of athletes from all over the world have arrived in Paris to compete in the 2024 Games, which take place just over two weeks since the Olympics drew to a close. Though it celebrates multiple disciplines of sport like the Olympics, the event has some significantly different traditions and practices, particularly when it comes to the medals the athletes receive. For blind athletes taking part in the Games, how are they able to tell which medal they have won? How do blind Paralympians know which medal they’ve…

The 2024 Paris Paralympics are taking place over the next week-and-a-half. The Games are taking centre stage just over two weeks since the Olympic games wrapped-up in the French capital, with thousands of paralympians eyeing glory in their respective events. The first Olympic Games were held in 1896, while the Paralympics began in 1960. And over the years, several athletes have competed in both the Olympics and Paralympics – let’s take a look at some of those in the exclusive club. Who has competed in both the Olympics and Paralympics? There have been 15 people who have competed in both…

When it comes to Olympic season, some things are inevitable.  World records, memes, new sporting heroes, heartwarming moments, and finding out more about the host nation are now par for the course. But sadly, something else has become as much a part of the Olympics and Paralympics as the 100m – talking about trans people taking part. As a trans person, I’ve watched with alarm as the topic of our inclusion in sport has become a heated conversation in recent years. In every major sporting event, I read comments from critics claiming trans participation is ‘ruining women’s sport’ – while…

Around 4,440 Paralympic athletes from 184 nations have gathered in Paris for the 2024 edition of the games. But for a group of athletes, they are competing in the French capital under the NPA banner, which stands for Neutral Paralympic Athletes. These are Russian and Belarusian athletes, who have been permitted to take part despite their respective nations having been banned from the Olympics and Paralympics due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The rules NPA athletes are subject to at the Paris 2024 Paralympics NPA athletes are competing in the Paralympics in neutral uniforms, which do not feature…

Who is the greatest goalscorer of all-time? Well, if it purely boils down to the number of times the ball has hit the net it has to be Cristiano Ronaldo, with Lionel Messi not far behind. Pele must come into the equation along with Gerd Muller, Jimmy Greaves, Robert Lewandowski and Ferenc Puskas if we’re really digging into the past and there are numerous others who receive an honourable mention in dispatches. But standards have never been higher than they are now in the Premier League and, if we are putting the English elite above all else which is a…

The Paris 2024 Paralympics are firmly underway with the finest Paralympians from across the globe eyeing glory in the French capital. Team GB will be looking for a repeat of their showing three years ago in Tokyo, where they finished second in the table with 124 medals – with a huge 41 of those being gold. But exactly how many sports and events are there in the Paralympics and how many medals are being handed out to athletes? Here is everything you need to know. How many sports are there in the Paralympics? There are 22 sports involved at the…

The finest para-athletes in the world are gunning for gold at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. But they aren’t the only ones who are hitting the track at the Stade de France, with some events seeing runners competing with guides. So, why exactly do some athletes, who even compete in a blindfold, run alongside guides and do their chaperones get a medal if they finish on the podium? Here is everything you need to know. Do guides get a medal at the Paralympics? Running guides will receive a medal alongside their athlete if they finish on the podium at the Paralympics.…

Channel 4 has an impressive list of presenters, pundits and commentators for their action-packed coverage of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. It has been a busy summer with the European Championship and Olympic Games providing triumph and heartbreak in equal measure. The summer of sport isn’t over yet, however. Ellie Simmonds, winner of eight Paralympic medals, is making her presenting debut with over 1,300 hours of live sport to be broadcast on Channel 4, More 4 and Channel 4’s YouTube channels over the 11 days of action. Here’s who will be guiding you through all the action on TV.…

Indian Paralympics star Sheetal Devi has stolen the show with her incredible technique at the Paris 2024 Games. The 17 year-old archer has the rare congenital disorder phocomelia, which saw her born without any arms. But that hasn’t stopped her pursuing her dreams, with Devi the first and only female archer without any upper limbs to claim an international title, courtesy of the two gold medals she won at the 2022 Asian Para Games in China. And those skills were in full force in the French capital, with Devi using her right leg to raise the bow, pulling the string…