19 Christian Para Athletes to Root For at the Paris 2024 Paralympics
Meet Paralympians from around the world who are unashamed of the gospel.
Around 4,400 Para athletes will vie for victory in 22 sports at the summer Paralympics, which run from August 28 to September 8 in Paris.
The Paralympics use a system of classification to ensure that Para athletes competing in the same category have “similar functional abilities in terms of movement, coordination and balance.” Each class includes a letter representing the sport (like S for swimming) and a number (the lower the figure, the greater the impairment in most cases).
The Christian Para athletes featured below hail from nine countries and are competing in 12 sports, including Para cycling, Para swimming, shot put, and wheelchair rugby.
Below are their stories on how living with disability and excelling in their sport has given them opportunities to proclaim God’s name.
With reporting by Isabel Ong, Mariana Albuquerque, Morgan Lee, and Angela Lu Fulton.
Boccia
Andreza Vitória de Oliveira, Brazil
Andreza Vitória de Oliveira was 14 when she started practicing boccia. Today, the 23-year-old is a world champion who won gold at the Parapan American Games last year.
This is Oliveira’s second Paralympic Games; she first competed at Tokyo in 2020. “I'm going to do everything that I can do with a lot of dedication so that, God willing, everything goes well and I come back with a Paralympic medal,” she said.
At age two, Oliveira was diagnosed with Leigh syndrome, a neurodegenerative condition that affects the central nervous system and makes walking difficult. Oliveira started using a wheelchair at 11, and her mother introduced her to the sport a few years later.
“When you find happiness in doing something you love, ...