PARIS (AP) — The message is clear: Paralympians are not participating. They are competing. A number of athletes preparing for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games have proclaimed that on their social feeds over the past few days, reminding the world that Olympians are not the only athletes coming to Paris looking for gold.
The games will be underway next week with the opening ceremony on Wednesday. Athletes and the games’ own social and creative teams have been taking a more aggressive approach to their messaging, leaning into disabilities and being willing to risk discomfiting their audience to introduce athletes and their personalities, not just their disabilities. The International Paralympic Committee has released several YouTube videos to show the edgier side of its competitors, including : “ Paris 2024: What Really Matters ” and “ Paris 2024: 100 Days to Go – Welcome to the Paralympics .
” The tagline for both: “This is the Paralympics...
they’re not playing games.” If you didn’t know the characters, the “What Really Matters” series opens on a jarring note . A genial 5-foot-6-inch man grasps a car’s steering wheel with his foot.
He leans over to his passenger and says with a sideways smile, “Is this your first time riding in a car with a guy without arms?” The guy with no arms is Paralympic silver medalist Matt Stutzman, who has built up a brand as the “Armless Archer.” He maneuvers the car with his feet: left foot on the pedals, right foot.