Paris 2024: Brazilian athletes start arriving at Paralympic Village

The first Brazilian athletes arrived at the Paralympic Village in Paris on Wednesday (Aug. 21), a week before the start of the Paralympic Games, which will take place between August 28 and September 8.

The first batch of Brazilian athletes in the Paralympic Village, a total of 75, will compete in rowing, table tennis, sitting volleyball, archery, weightlifting, and boccia. The next team to arrive is goalball, with a total of 12 athletes from the men’s and women’s squads. They are expected to arrive next Thursday (22). The Brazilian delegation will enter the Village in stages until August 30, when the fencers will join the other athletes in Paris.

“Every time I take part in the Games, I have different experiences. This is my third time in them. When I got here I felt a super-positive energy. I’ve only just arrived and I’m already in love. I have no words to describe the spot reserved for Brazil. Everything is so beautiful. It’s going to be perfect for us,” said Mariana D’Andrea, Paralympic weightlifting champion at the Tokyo Games.

Jonas Freire, director of high-performance sports for the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, praised the structure prepared for the Paralympic athletes on the banks of the Seine river: “The Local Organizing Committee and the International Paralympic Committee showed special attention to accessibility from the very beginning of the structuring of the space. The Paralympic Village is fully accessible and provides complete autonomy for people with disabilities.”