All the overnight news from Paris as our Paralympians go for gold

Thanks to the challenging time difference, Australians will wake up to Paris Paralympics news while the Games are on. The Kids News team will be up early to report on the major updates in time for classes start each weekday.

AUSTRALIA’S MEDAL TALLY

• GOLD: 14
• SILVER: 12
• BRONZE: 18

MEDAL TALLY:
1. China: 71 gold, 55 silver, 37 bronze

2. Great Britain: 36 gold, 28 silver, 19 bronze

3. United States: 27 gold, 33 silver, 16 bronze

4. Netherlands: 21gold, 10 silver, 5 bronze

5. France: 17 gold, 22 silver, 21 bronze

Australia is currently 9th on the medal table

DAY EIGHT
PARA-SWIMMING
A quiet day for Australia had a big finish heading into the weekend, as para-swimmer Timothy Hodge won the first individual gold medal of his career, making it two in total at these Games.

Arriving in the French capital for his third Paralympics, Hodge already had three silver medals to his name.

In the early hours of Friday morning AEST, he took out the men’s SM9 individual medley in a Paralympic record time of 2:13.31.

The previous record had been held by fellow Aussie Matthew Cowdrey since 2008.

Hodge also holds the world record, which he set at the Games trials.

The 23-year-old was also part of the unforgettable team gold won in the mixed 4x100m medley relay – 34 Points earlier in the week, featuring Alexa Leary’s astonishing anchor leg.

PARA-ATHLETICS
Vanessa Low has won a third straight long jump gold medal with a dominant display in the T63 final.

Low jumped 5.45m with her first jump to break the world record for her own T61 classification.

She was the only T61 athlete in the eight-person field.

Low’s other jumps included another 5.45 and 5.44m.

PARA-CYCLING
Lauren Parker’s incredible Paris campaign continued with a second gold medal.

She took out the women’s H1-H3 road race in stunning fashion to double her gold tally following the triathlon victory on Monday.

Parker also claimed a silver in the women’s time trial.

PARA-TABLE TENNIS
Australia won another table tennis medal thanks to Sam von Einem, who claimed a bronze medal in the men’s MS11 singles standing event.

The 29-year-old was beaten by the Republic of Korea’s Gi Tae Kim in the semi-final to claim his medal.

He had previously won two silvers in Rio and Tokyo.

The medal he won on Games debut in 2016 was Australia’s first in the sport, Olympic or Paralympic, since Terry Biggs in 1984.

DAY SEVEN
PARA-SWIMMING
Alexa Leary broke the women’s 100m freestyle S9 world record in the heats, only to do it again in the final.

Three years after narrowly escaping death in a horrific bike accident, Leary has completely stolen the spotlight at the Paris Paralympics by winning her second gold medal. The Queenslander swam a 59.53s race to claim her second gold medal of the Games, following on from a magnificent swim in the 4x100m medley relay two days earlier.

The crowd at the La Defense Arena went crazy watching her celebrate with an impromptu dance after the medal presentation.

“I’m amazed that I did it,” she said. “I really just wanted to break the world record and I did. I broke it this morning, but tonight was my show and it was a great one.”

Already loved in Australia because of her inspirational tale of survival and zest for life, Leary has rocketed to international stardom as the princess of the Paris Paralympics.

“I’ve just come so far in life,” she said. “Like being told three years ago that I wouldn’t live.

“But I am and once again I proved the world wrong because I’m walking and I’m talking when we were told that I would never.

“The fact that I am swimming so very well and I’m at the Paralympics, I am just like ‘Well done, Lex, you have honestly come so very far’.”

In 2021 her mum and dad were facing every parent’s worst nightmare: being told to say goodbye to their daughter. Just 19 and a promising young triathlete at the time, Leary was in a coma after a bike crash that saw her fracture her skull, scapula, ribs and leg and puncture a lung.

She sustained permanent brain and leg injuries but has retained a positive and optimistic attitude that is infectious to all who meet her.

PARA-TABLE TENNIS
Australia’s unstoppable one-armed table tennis sensation Qian Yang has set her sights on crossing over to the Olympic team for Los Angeles in 2028 after destroying her Paralympic rivals in Paris.

In a class of her own at the Paralympics, Yang brushed past Poland’s Natalia Partyka 11-6 11-9 -12-10 in a gold medal match in the French capital that lasted less than half an hour.

With the win, the naturalised Chinese star, who now calls Melbourne home, successfully retained the Category 10 singles crown she first won for Australia at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.

Yang’s next challenge is her bid to make the Australian team at the next Olympics.

“If I am given the opportunity, I would really like to compete for Australia at the Olympics,” said Yang, whose lower left arm was amputated after she was involved in an accident as a child.

PARA-CYCLING
After winning a silver medal in her individual time trial, Lauren Parker became the first Aussie athlete to win two medals in different sports at the same Paralympics.

It followed on from her success in the triathlon earlier in the week.

Next up is the road race on Thursday afternoon AEST.

Great Britain’s Sarah Storey’s Paralympic Games medal tally now sits at 29.

Competing at her ninth Games, the 46-year-old claimed the women’s C5 road cycling individual time trial to take her career tally to 18 gold medals.

She has also competed across track cycling and swimming.

PARA-ARCHERY
Those who attended the archery won’t be forgetting Taymon Kenton-Smith anytime soon.

The colourful Aussie was a crowd favourite on his way to a fourth-place finish in the men’s individual recurve on Wednesday in Paris.

In between sets, he revved up the crowd even when the game was going against him.

PARA-BOCCIA
Individual silver medallists at these Games, Daniel Michel and Jamieson Lee were handed a tough quarter-final draw against Korea in the boccia mixed pairs BC3 and were beaten 2-4, ending Australia’s bid for its first gold medal in the sport.

DAY SIX
PARA-ATHLETICS
James Turner claimed his third straight gold medal at the Paralympics, with a dominant run in the men’s T36 400m final on Monday afternoon in Paris. He successfully defended his title from Tokyo, in a race where he broke the world record.

Australia’s youngest Paralympian Telaya Blacksmith meanwhile made her international Paralympic finals debut with a megawatt smile. The 16-year-old Warlpiri woman originally from Lajamanu in the Northern Territory, who now lives in Sydney, Blacksmith finished eighth in the women’s 100m final.

A day earlier, the teenager set a new national record for the T20 classification, which includes people with an intellectual disability.

“The final was pretty hard but now I know what to look forward to by making the next Paras,” Blacksmith said.

“I’m happy I got this far to be honest.

“Another four years, I’ll do it again, and I’ll see what happens from there.”

Blacksmith’s commitments in Paris aren’t finished just yet, as she prepares to compete in the long jump later in the week.

“I usually like making friends out there and meeting new people,” she said. “It’s the crowd, it’s the adrenaline, it’s just so much fun.”

PARA-SWIMMING
Swimmer Alex Saffy has the first Paralympic Games medal of his career after finishing third in the men’s 100m butterfly SB9. Saffy narrowly beat fellow Australian Col Pearse in the race for the podium on a night where Rachael Watson also claimed a bronze.

PARA-TABLE TENNIS
Qian Yang’s remarkable Games has continued after qualifying for the women’s WS10 singles standing gold medal game.

Yang overcame Brazilian Bruna Alexandre in a captivating match 3-2.

And the 28-year-old believes she has the ability to play at the Olympic Games as fellow Aussie Melissa Tapper did last month.

“I would like to, if I have the chance. I feel I can do it,” she said.

It follows her gold medal success in the doubles alongside Li Na Lei.

WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL
Australia is out of the medal hunt after losing to Great Britain in the quarterfinal.

A 28-13 final term proved the difference between the two sides and Australia now heads for classification rounds after the 20-point defeat.

DAY FIVE
PARA-SWIMMING
Alexa Leary has just won her first Paralympic gold medal with a performance so stunning that it ranks up there with the very best, from Ian Thorpe or Cate Campbell.

The new darling of the Dolphins Paralympic swim team, Leary teamed up with Jesse Aungles, Tim Hodge and Emily Beecroft to win Paralympic gold for Australia in the mixed medley relay.

But it wasn’t just the sweet sound of Advance Australia Fair playing at the La Defense Arena in Paris that made this so special.

It was the mind-blowing way that she and her teammates pulled it off.

Swimming the anchor leg, the 23-year-old dived in with the Aussies in fourth place, more than six seconds behind the Dutch, who picked a male to swim the closing freestyle leg and led comfortably.

The Aussies still looked to have no chance of winning the gold even when Leary clawed her way back to second place at the final turn for home but she kept fighting and somehow got herself in front in the final few strokes as the packed crowd erupted in sheer astonishment at what they had just witnessed.

“I knew I had to catch him and overtake him,” Leary said.

“I was like, ‘That’s it. I’m going to have to just take this win. I have to’.

“He was actually a bit in front of me at 15m but I caught him. I had to, I just had to do that.”

Mobbed by her teammates the moment she climbed out of the pool, Leary said she was proud of what the whole relay team had done.

“What we’re doing is just incredible. The fact that we’re actually in that war room, we are going for what we’re told we could never get,” she said.

“I think it’s the most inspiring thing ever. I love this team. Our Australian team is so powerful. It honestly is.”

Every member of the Australian Paralympic team in Paris has an incredible backstory but few make the hairs stand up quite like Leary’s. A talented triathlete who had ambitions of competing for Australia at the Olympics, the Queenslander was in a coma after a near-death bike crash when the last Paralympics took place.

PARA-TRIATHLON
Even in her greatest moment of triumph, Lauren Parker was still in excruciating pain.

So she did what she always does: she just gritted her teeth and flashed a cheeky smile that let everyone know it didn’t matter because this was her happy day.

Perhaps Australia’s bravest athlete, Parker ended three years of sporting torment when she won gold in her triathlon classification at the Paris Paralympics.

Leading from start to finish, the 35-year-old turned the tables on her great American rival Kendall Gretsch to claim victory in one of the most heartwarming results witnessed in Paris over the past month.

WHEELCHAIR RUGBY
After the heartbreak of a fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Games in 2021, Australia’s wheelchair rugby team are back on the podium.

The Aussies overcame rivals Great Britain in a thrilling contest to win 50-48, in a game that went right down to the wire.

After the disappointment of the semi-final loss, captain Chris Bond said they were determined to bounce back.

“We used that pain to fuel us and we had a bit of a chat beforehand in the tunnel … you know, two thirds of this team, it was eight people who couldn’t say they’re Paralympic medallists,” Bond said.

“The whole history of the Steelers, we’ve been quite successful. But with the squad we had, there’s only four of us that had a medal.”

PARA-ATHLETICS
The youngest member of the Aussie team, Telaya Blacksmith, 16, has qualified for the women’s 400m T20 final on Tuesday night AEST.

Blacksmith ran a personal best in the heat and qualified for the final as the second fastest outside of anyone who finished in the top-three in both heats.

She ran a 57.96s. Good luck tonight, Telaya!

BOCCIA
Jamieson Leeson and Daniel Michel came away with silver medals in their respective BC3 individual finals after absorbing games.

Leeson’s silver was the first for an Australian female and their achievement marks the first time Australia has won multiple boccia medals at a Paralympic Games.

DAY FOUR
PARA-SWIMMING
Ahmed Kelly survived a disqualification scare in the heats to eventually win a silver medal in the 150m individual medley final SM3.

He was originally disqualified after officials deemed he swam two legs of breaststroke when rules state competitors must swim three different strokes during a race.

He was reinstated on appeal and went on to win a silver medal ahead of great mate and fellow Aussie Grant “Scooter” Patterson in the final, who claimed bronze. The race was won by Germany’s Josia Tim Alexander Topf.

PARA-ATHLETICS

Australian javelin thrower Dayna Crees is a Paralympic medallist just two years after debuting for her country.

Crees, 22, threw 17.65m to claim the bronze medal and set a new personal best in a patient performance at the Stade de France in the early hours of Monday morning AEST.

The Victorian was the second last competitor to throw in the women’s F34 javelin, which took almost two-and-a-half hours to complete in warm conditions.

It’s a remarkable achievement for an athlete who also holds several Australian youth long jump records.

Also in para-athletics, Mali Lovell’s Paralympic Games debut became a moment she will never forget.

The rising para-athletics star secured a bronze medal in the women’s 200m T36 final on Sunday night AEST.

The 20-year-old recorded a time of 29.82s, narrowly beating Argentina’s Araceli Rotela across the line.

Unfortunately, Chad Perris missed the podium in the men’s 100m T13 final.

Chasing the second bronze of his career, Perris missed out by five-thousandths of a second.

PARA-ROWING
Australia has enjoyed a historic day at the para-rowing.

Nikki Ayers and Jed Altschwager combined to win the PR3 mixed double sculls, the first time the event has been held at the Paralympics.

It was also Australia’s first gold medal in para-rowing at any Paralympic Games.

The pair crossed the line in a time of 7:26.74.

The duo share a special relationship, with Ayers having moved to Adelaide so they could train together more regularly.

It came shortly after Erik Horrie was promoted to the bronze medal position in the men’s single scull PR1.

He had crossed the line in fourth but his Italian rival was disqualified from third for using a communications device during the race.

It was the fourth Paralympic medal of Horrie’s career after three silvers in a row at previous events.

In the PR3 mixed coxed four, Australia finished the race in fifth to round out the day.

BOCCIA
Australian Boccia stars Dan Michel and Jamieson Leeson have won through to their respective gold medal matches.

Michel, the world’s number one ranked player, progressed after overcoming Greek opponent Grigorios Polychronidis 6-1 in their BC3 men’s semi-final.

“Can’t believe I will be at a gold-medal match at the Paralympic Games. It’s crazy,” Michel said.

Leeson outclassed Brazilian Evani Calado 7-1 in the women’s BC3 competition.

WHEELCHAIR RUGBY
They’ll be disappointed but Australia’s wheelchair rugby team still has a shot at a medal.

The Steelers will play for bronze after going down to Japan in heartbreaking fashion.

Ryley Batt’s try with 1:04 left on the clock put the Aussies ahead before the Japanese team scored just seconds later.

Eventually the game went to overtime, where Japan prevailed.

DAY ONE
SWIMMING
Tom Gallagher claimed Australia’s first gold medal of the Games after winning the men’s 50m freestyle S10 with Rowan Crothers earning a bronze in the same race.

It marked the end of a night where the Aussies won four medals in the pool.

Brenden Hall won his country’s first medal after claiming bronze in the men’s 400m freestyle S9, the opening race of the meet.

It seemed fitting that French hero Ugo Didier claimed the first gold medal of para-swimming in the same race at the Paris La Defense Arena.

Lakeisha Patterson came away with a silver medal in the women’s 400m freestyle S9, going down by 0.36s.

In the women’s 50m freestyle S9, China’s Yi Chen broke the world record after it had originally been broken earlier in the day. She swam 27.10s to beat American Christie Raleigh-Crossley who had set a new time earlier in the day.

Australians Alex Leary and Jasmine Greenwood finished sixth and eighth respectively.

BOCCIA
Dan Michel’s on a mission after his bid for the boccia* gold medal got off to the perfect start as he recorded a strong 10-2 win over South Africa’s Karabo Morapedi. The world number one stormed home after trailing 2-1 at the midway point, scoring nine to zero in the final two ends.

WHEELCHAIR RUGBY
Australia’s bid for a wheelchair rugby gold medal is off to a rocky start after the Steelers went down to reigning champions Great Britain. Trailing at every break, the world champions were beaten 58-55 at Arena Champ de Mars.

“Not ideal to lose game one, it’s the one we had envisioned to set ourselves up for later in the competition,” Australian captain Chris Bond said.

The Steelers now face host nation France on Friday.

FIRST MEDAL OF THESE PARALYMPICS
The first gold medal of the 2024 Paralympic Games was won by the Netherlands.

Dutch para-cyclist Caroline Groot stormed home to win the women’s C4-5 500m time trial ahead of local hope Marie Patouillet.

It was a remarkable day for Groot who set a new world record in qualifying.

HISTORY FOR THE REFUGEE TEAM
The world became aware of Zakia Khudadadi’s story in Tokyo when she escaped the Taliban* in Afghanistan to compete.

Now she’s made more history becoming the first medallist from the Refugee* Paralympic Team.

She hasn’t returned to Afghanistan since Tokyo and is now living in France.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• boccia: a precision ball sport, similar to bocce, and related to bowls and pétanque
• Taliban: ultraconservative, fundamentalist Islamic militia in Afghanistan
• refugee: people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country

EXTRA READING

Paralympics open in blaze of glory

Meet our 2024 Paralympian team

Get your Paris Olympics kit for use during the Paralympics

REFLECTIONS

1. Which Paralympic sport are you following most closely and why?
2. What has been the most significant win for a team other than Australia?
3. Which athlete has inspired you most by overcoming injury and/or disability to compete?
4. Who was the first athlete to put Australia on the medal table on day one?
5. Whose loss at the Paralympics have you felt most deeply?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY
DAY EIGHT

DAY SEVEN

DAY SIX

DAY FIVE

DAY FOUR

DAY ONE

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Rule changes
Choose two of the para-athletics events that interest you.

List and describe the rule changes or event modifications that take place for the sport to cater for the para-athletes and the different disability categories.

The different disability categories for athletics are as follows:

Athlete classification is defined by a letter and a number: “T” for track and jump events and “F” for field events. Different numbers represent impairments as follows:

11-13: vision impairment

20: intellectual impairment

31-38: coordination impairments 

40-47: short stature, upper limb competing with prosthesis or equivalent, lower limb competing with prosthesis or equivalent 

T51-54: wheelchair races

F51-58: seated throws

61-64: lower limb competing with prosthesis

Event 1 – Sport:
Category:

Modifications:

Event 2 – Sport:
Category:

Modifications:

Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
What has been the most inspirational moment you’ve seen in the Paralympics so far?

Describe the event and how it made you feel.

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

1. My favourite moment
What has been your favourite Paralympic moment so far? Choose one of the following tasks to complete about that moment:

Write a vivid description of what happened and how it made you feel.

Write some interview questions that you would like to ask one of the athletes or umpire/referees involved.

Write and record some commentary to accompany the moment.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
Create an artistic representation of the moment you chose above. This could be a drawing or painting, a digital artwork, a collage or sculpture, a Lego build, etc. Use whatever materials are easily available in your classroom.

Time: allow 40 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Visual Arts

2. Find out more
Find out more about our Paralympic flag bearers Brendan Hall and Madison de Rozario. Use the information that you have gathered to write a list of the reasons why each of these athletes were a great choice to carry our flag at the opening ceremony.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education

2. Extension
“There should not be separate Olympic and Paralympic Games. Olympic and Paralympic events should be held at the same time.”

Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Write very convincing paragraphs explaining your opinion.

Time: allow at least 45 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social Capability

VCOP ACTIVITY
My Paralympic hero
Write a letter to one of the Paralympic athletes. Explain to them how proud you are of them, why they are a Paralympic hero to you, and that you have noticed them. Your letter can be anonymous or you can personally sign it off.

Remember when writing a letter:

• start with a greeting: Dear Sir/Madam,

• then on a new line, write the body of the letter.

• finish with a closing: Kind regards,

• and finally, sign the letter.

Try to include detail and emotion in the letter to connect with your target audience: your Olympic hero.