As more than 4,400 athletes gather in Paris for the Paralympic Games 2024the first medals are awarded. The Games began on August 28 and will runs until September 8th.

The first medal of the Games went to Dutch para cyclist Caroline Groot, who set both a world and Paralympic record in the 500m time trial C4-5. Italy’s Francesco Bocciardo also set a Paralympic record, as the 30-year-old para swimmer won a medal in the men’s 200m freestyle S5 at his fourth Games. And host nation France got its first gold of the Games thanks to para swimmer Ugo Didier in the men’s 400m freestyle S9.

The first American medal at the Paralympic Games was a silver medal for para-swimmer Elizabeth Marks in the women’s 50-meter freestyle S6. She also won silver in the women’s 50-meter butterfly S6 and the women’s 200-meter individual medley SM6.

During the Games, medals will be awarded in 549 events in 22 sports at 20 venues, including the recently opened La Defense aquatic centre. medal winning performances of Olympians like the American star Katie Ledecky and that of France Leon Marchandand the athletics facilities at the Stade de France, where American long jumper Tara Woodhall-Davis won gold.

She was encouraged by her husband, Hunter Woodhalla sprinter who will be chasing gold at the Paralympic Games starting September 1. She jumped into his arms after her final jump, one of the most viral moments of the Games.