The Most Memorable Moments of the 2024 Paralympics

Since the 2024 Paralympics have just come to a close, here are some of the most memorable moments from the event. 

1. Sheetal Davi wins bronze for mixed team archery:

At just 17 years old, Sheetal Davi won a bronze medal for India while competing alongside her partner Rakesh Kumar. She is the youngest Indian medalist in the history of the Paralympics. She warmed hearts as she started her turn with a perfect bullseye while only using her legs to shoot. Davi was born with phocomelia, a rare condition that caused her to be born without her upper limbs being fully formed. (Click here for more information!)

2. Jodie Grinham wins bronze for compound women’s while 7 months pregnant:

While she was 7 months pregnant, Jodie Grinham competed and won bronze for Great Britain, making her the first pregnant woman ever to be on a Paralympic podium. Jodie had never anticipated that this would happen. All she knew was that she wanted to participate and compete to the best of her ability. As she explained that, in order to shoot with such precision, she had to change her stances slightly to accommodate the position of her baby.She told the World Archery Organization that “[she] accepts that today is different. If the baby goes into [her] back, then [she] tips a bit more” in order to stabilize her weight. . With this achievement, Grinham once again proved how talented and resilient she is! (Click for more information)

3. Maisie Summers-Newton wins gold at the 200m individual medley:

Masie Summers-Newton stunned the world as she took home the gold medal for the 200m individual medley (IM). An IM consists of 1 lap (50m in this case) of each stroke, fly, back, breast, and free. After a close 100m competing neck to neck with America’s Ellie Marks, Summer-Newton was able to gain a lead during breaststroke, which allowed her to have an easier lead in the freestyle back, and led her to win by an astounding 5.6 seconds. Maisie was able to take home a win for Great Britain. (Click for more info!)

4. Zakia Khudadadi wins the first ever medal for the Refugees team:

After Afghanistan banned women from participating in sports, Khudadadi fled the country to continue her training. Initially, she wasn’t able to leave, so she secretly trained in her back garden. The Taliban threatened to punish her if she did not leave Afghanistan, but she wasn’t able to leave until 2021, after she made a public plea. She trained for years, and as she took to the podium, she won a bronze medal for Taekwondo for all of the refugees. (Click here for more info!)

5. Hunter Woodhall and Tara Davis-Woodhall, the Golden Medal Couple:

Tara Davis-Woodhall in early August, had won a gold medal for women’s long jump, then ran back into the crowd to her husband, Hunter Woodhall. And with a heartwarming turn of events, Hunter Woodhall was the one to win a gold medal for the men’s 400 T62 Paralympics and ran to Tara as she congratulated him for his win. They had met when they were 17 years old at a track meet in  Idaho, and they later turned into close friends. And becoming known as the Golden Couple of the Games. (Click here for more information!)