First time Paralympians get full experience in Paris

Amanda Rummery was reminded by her veteran teammate and Paris roommate Marissa Papaconstantinou that she was fortunate in a certain way that her Paralympic Games debut occurred in 2024 rather than under the tight restrictions including no crowds in Tokyo three years ago.

In that 2021 season, Rummery nearly made the cut for those Games but that miss generated even more motivation for Paris 2024. Obviously competing in Tokyo would have been beneficial for the middle-distance runner’s carer however Paris provided the brightest picture of what the Paralympics are all about.

“People have always talked about their experiences at the Paralympics and how they loved it and it was a good time, but it felt like it was even better than what they had described,’’ said Rummery, 27, fifth in the women’s T47 400m. ‘’I couldn’t have imagined what it would be like and it was incredible.’’

Para swimmer Philippe Vachon of Trois-Rivieres, Que., paid his dues for many years to get to the Paralympic Games. The 29-year-old recalls the small details of his first experience in the French capital.

‘’I just remember being n the waiting room and seeing all the guys beside me. They were from France, Spain, USA, Denmark, it was a nice moment. To tell myself I had made it this far, was a beautiful moment for me.’’

Reed De’Aeth of the men’s wheelchair basketball team scored 14 points in an important preliminary round victory over Germany at his first Games as he helped Canada to fourth, it’s best result in 12 years.

“Being on a team to compete at the highest level in the world is pretty awesome,’’ said the 22-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alta., who’ll be back in France this fall to play professional wheelchair basketball. ‘’Being able to wear ‘Canada across my chest is an absolute honour.’’

Jesse Zesseu of Toronto was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of people in the stands and the media mixed zone. He came home with a silver medal in the men’s F37 discus at his first Games.

“Getting there and experiencing the entire thing, … this was like on a whole other level,’’ he said. The crowds were insane, we would have like 60- to 70,000 people for track and I’ve never experienced that in my whole life.

“I think most Paralympic athletes are not used to the media fanfare. The switch up is quite jarring but like, you have to expect it and it’s really cool.”