Paralympics organizers say triathlon competitions in Paris scheduled for Sunday have been postponed because of concerns about water quality in the Seine River after heavy rainfall.
Sarah Adam is the first American woman to compete at the Paralympics in wheelchair rugby. She was in the starting lineup when Team USA kicked off its campaign on Thursday — against familiar foe Canada. Other women in wheelchair rugby are barrier-busting, too. Australia has an unprecedented three women on its 12-player team in Paris. Denmark, Germany and Japan also have female players, leaving host nation France, defending champion Britain and Canada as the only teams that don’t.
Against the backdrop of a setting sun, thousands of athletes paraded down the famed Champs-Elysées avenue to Place de la Concorde in central Paris where French President Emmanuel Macron officially declared the Paralympic Games open.
Athletes with Minnesota ties will compete in the Paris Paralympic games Aug. 28 through Sept. 8, matching up with the best in the world in sports like sitting volleyball, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, para swimming, para track and field and more.
The Paralympic Games are set to open Wednesday as some 4,400 athletes with disabilities, permanent injuries or impairments prepare to compete for 549 medals across 22 sports over 11 days. Paris just hosted the Olympics and it again provides the backdrop for what promises to be a spectacle.
The Park Rapids native has quite the resume. This will be Aaron’s seventh Paralympic games. He’s qualified for every summer and winter games since 2012.