Those who loved the thrill of international competition need to look no further than the 2024 Paralympics. The Olympics drew 30.6 million daily viewers, doubling its 2020 Tokyo viewership. The Paralympics debut Wednesday and run for two weeks.
Like the Olympics, the Paralympics have a big show to put on from Aug. 28 through Sept. 8, where nearly 4,400 Paralympians will compete in 22 sports with a total of 549 medal events.
The 2020 Paralympics already doubled its 2016 viewership with an average of 14.1 million U.S. viewers, but with record-breaking numbers during the Paris Olympics, The Shorthorn Editorial Board believes the same should be expected for the Paralympics.
“The world is taking a turn in favor of people with differences,” Morgan Wood, Lady Movin’ Mavs head coach, said. “Which is a great thing, not just for disability, but race, gender, right? That benefits the Paralympics in every way.”
This year, graduate student Élodie Tessier and several former UTA athletes will play a role in the Paralympics.
“It’s important that we put, especially our UTA athletes, on a pedestal,” Wood said.
Viewers often underestimate the amount of training Olympians and Paralympians go through year-round, Aaron Gouge, Movin’ Mavs head coach, said. But while support in the U.S. is growing and moving in a positive direction for Paralympians, it still trails in other countries.
In 2019, the United States Olympic Committee updated its name to the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. That visibility matters, Gouge said.
The Spirit of 2012, an independent Trust by the National Lottery Community Fund founded in 2013, showed that attitudes in the U.K. began changing towards adaptive sports by 70% after the 2012 London games. Though adaptive sports have grown, research shows there’s still work to be done.
“They’re not out here just for fun. They’ve been training for years to get to this point and are out there to compete and to win,” Gouge said.
Gouge spent 12 years training before competing in his first Paralympics in 2016, where he won a gold medal in Rio de Janeiro. Team USA’s 2016 victory sparked back-to-back gold medals in men’s wheelchair basketball. This year, they have the opportunity to win three consecutive golds, a feat no Paralympic team has done before, Gouge said.
Wood spent years trying out for Team USA before getting the opportunity to serve as captain during the 2017-2018 campaign. Unfortunately, injuries derailed the end of her collegiate career but allowed Wood to venture into coaching.
While Wood never competed at the Paralympic Games, she’s competed in World Championship games and collected a silver medal during the America’s Qualifier Cup.
“First and foremost, representing your country, that’s a different feeling altogether,” Wood said.
It doesn’t matter who’s watching, an athlete should be proud to represent their country, she said. It’s a lot of weight to carry, and it involves a different mindset to train as a Paralympian alongside being a college athlete.
There have been several factors over the years that have promoted the growth of Paralympic sports, such as Paralympian Hunter Woodhall and Olympian Tara Davis-Woodhall, who recently won gold in the women’s long jump. With the attention they’ve received, they reminded viewers to tune in to the Paralympics.
In 2020, Toyota launched its Toyota U.S. Paralympic Fund, offering monetary support and sponsorships to eligible Paralympians. The Hershey Company has been a supporter of Team USA since 2015.
Seeing support from big companies makes everyone feel included, Wood said. Several athletes can’t afford to be on a national team, and there are athletes who, at times, get paid next to nothing. For those who win a medal, that is their yearly salary, so it’s even more crucial for companies to back athletes through partnerships.
The Paralympic movement gained significant momentum heading into Paris, and hopefully, the support carries into the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, sparking a bigger opportunity for the Paralympic movement, Gouge said.
“If we can’t make LA a big deal for the Paralympics, then we’ve messed up,” Wood said.
The Shorthorn Editorial Board is made up of editor-in-chief Christine Vo; managing editor Hannah García; news editor Pedro Malkomes; associate news editor Amanda Aldridge; copy desk chief Jinelle Sánchez; multimedia editor Ronaldo Bolaños; engagement editor Francisca Gomez; news reporter James Ward; and copy editor Leslie Orozco.
