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 AthleticsCharlotte Harpur was there and now she brings you her most memorable moments and takeaways from the Games as well as looking forward to the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

Best moment: France vs. Argentina, blind soccer final

Cries 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 clicked into each other were punctuated by whispers of “Shhhhhh“.

The crowd must be silent as the blind players depend on hearing the noise of the football and communication from the team leader behind the goal. The juxtaposition of fury when France won with the silence was huge.

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

Outstanding 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 that read: “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 made his dream come true.

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 the emotions as they embraced Frech outside a deserted Stade de France in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Biggest surprise: Jurgen Klopp watching Wojtek Czyz at badminton

I like a plan but sometimes you have to pivot. If you had said that 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 more than 20 years playing the British Daniel Bethell.

What was less surprising was that Klopp didn’t change a bit. He shouted “Well done” to Bethell, who beat Czyz, as he left the court, a touch of class, and his wide 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 student and orphan Oksana Kozyna who had no idea she was watching.

Most memorable quotes

Okay, there are too many. All of the below are reported here by The Athletics…

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 a baby is going ‘What’s going on, it’s really loud, mum what. are you does’. But it was a lovely reminder of the support bubble I have in my belly.”

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

Oksana Masters after winning the women’s road H5, 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 kept them all, she said: “I love socks, so I keep them (medals) in socks. Of course, the girl with no legs loves socks! I keep it safe because I’m ignorant and I broke my first medal.”

I read about her terrifying but inspiring story, but when I spoke to her in person, I was blown away by her charisma and infectious personality.

Biggest disappointment

You can only be in one place at a time, so I was disappointed not to see any goal ball or wheelchair rugby, also known as killer 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.

Best Social Post: Chuck Aoki

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

Well, those hands now hold a silver medal.

Best photo: Sheetal Devi

The alert photo of armless archer Sheetal Devi aiming in the para archery range.

Favorite party: 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) 7 September 2024

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

“And for the LA28 games, hurdles,” she wrote.

The thing I learned: the role of society in making life accessible for people with disabilities

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

All disabled people want is to be accepted and continue their daily life. They have no control over those two factors but society does.

Lessons for LA 2028: Watch out America

The United States has has been described as the sleeping giant due to their lack of investment in Paralympic sports but, with Los Angeles 2028 on the horizon, that giant will be fired up.

The Paralympic medal table

(Top photos: Getty Images)