See 16 Incredible Photos from the 2024 Paris Paralympics

Mar. 15, 2025

Matt Stutzman.Photo:Alex Davidson/Getty

Alex Davidson/Getty

The2024 Paralympicshave been yet another picture-perfect show of athletic achievement — all with the backdrop of Paris.

As approximately 4,400 competitors from 168 countries fought for gold, silver and bronze in sports like wheelchair volleyball, archery, track and field and more,Getty photographers captured every moment.

01of 16Double TroubleChristian King and Tyler Merren of Team United States.Alex Davidson/GettyAs photographer Alex Davidson started shooting goalball, he “realized goalball skills require the athletes to be covering the net in coordination together.““I saw some activity around the goal and had something like this shot in the back of my mind if it happened. Christian King and Tyler Merren of Team USA produced beautiful symmetry jointly defending the goal which seemed to summarize my impressions of the sport nicely.”

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Double Trouble

Christian King and Tyler Merren of Team United States.Alex Davidson/Getty

As photographer Alex Davidson started shooting goalball, he “realized goalball skills require the athletes to be covering the net in coordination together.”

“I saw some activity around the goal and had something like this shot in the back of my mind if it happened. Christian King and Tyler Merren of Team USA produced beautiful symmetry jointly defending the goal which seemed to summarize my impressions of the sport nicely.”

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Making Paralympic History

Zakia Khudadadi of Refugee Paralympic Team.Steph Chambers/Getty

Steph Chambers/Getty

“The French fans cheered her on the entire day because she currently lives and trains in France, so I knew a winning moment would be explosive from her. Little did I know that her coach would do most of the celebrating and parading of her!” Chambers tells PEOPLE. “I positioned myself to stay squared up with the Paris 2024 logo on the stair and waited for the celebration and Khudadadi’s expression to align with it. This all lined up to be the perfect moment and was really special to capture.”

03of 16Hands Up!Team Canada and Team Rwanda in sitting volleyball.Elsa/GettyPhotographer Elsa Garrison loved the “epic battles” at the net in sitting volleyball, and used a close lens to capture the players of Team Canada and Team Rwanda at the net.“What I love about this image is that you can see the taped fingers — the Paralympics and Team Canada artwork on their fingernails all add to the texture of this image. I worked on this for about half of a set to get it just right.”

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Hands Up!

Team Canada and Team Rwanda in sitting volleyball.Elsa/Getty

Elsa/Getty

Photographer Elsa Garrison loved the “epic battles” at the net in sitting volleyball, and used a close lens to capture the players of Team Canada and Team Rwanda at the net.

“What I love about this image is that you can see the taped fingers — the Paralympics and Team Canada artwork on their fingernails all add to the texture of this image. I worked on this for about half of a set to get it just right.”

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Jumping with Joy

Rosibel Colmenares of Team Venezuela.Ezra Shaw/Getty

Ezra Shaw/Getty

“All the athletes wear masks over their eyes so everyone is on the same level during competition and each athlete has a guide/assistant that helps them during the event. They usually stand right at the line where the athletes take off and either shout or clap as the athletes are running down the track and right before they jump, the guides move to the side,” he explains. “It was incredible to see the teamwork between the two. I love the emotion and power shown in this picture and the angle of Colmenares being head on to the camera as she lands.”

05of 16Medal MagicDheva Anrimusthi of Team Indonesia.Steph Chambers/GettyDheva Anrimusthi of Team Indonesia fell to the court in joy after winning bronze in badminton men’s singles SU5 at Porte de La Chapelle Arena.

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Medal Magic

Dheva Anrimusthi of Team Indonesia.Steph Chambers/Getty

Dheva Anrimusthi of Team Indonesia fell to the court in joy after winning bronze in badminton men’s singles SU5 at Porte de La Chapelle Arena.

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Clay Court Magic

Anderson Parker of Team Australia.Steph Chambers/Getty

Before the grueling wheelchair tennis matches of the Paralympics officially began, players spent hours on the court practicing for some of the biggest tournaments of their lives. That’s when photographer Steph Chambers grabbed this tricky shot of Australia’s Anderson Parker.

07of 16That Winning FeelingKinga Drozdz of Team Poland.Steph Chambers/GettyKinga Drozdz of Team Poland was overcome with happiness after winning a game during the women’s sabre category A semifinal, which Chambers captured.“Fencing is full of explosive emotions after each point, but the best reaction is after the winning moment.”

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That Winning Feeling

Kinga Drozdz of Team Poland.Steph Chambers/Getty

Kinga Drozdz of Team Poland was overcome with happiness after winning a game during the women’s sabre category A semifinal, which Chambers captured.

“Fencing is full of explosive emotions after each point, but the best reaction is after the winning moment.”

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Eyes on the Ball

Ignacio Ortega of Team Spain.Naomi Baker/Getty

Naomi Baker/Getty

Photographer Naomi Baker used a remote camera set up in the roof of Bercy Arena to get this shot of Ignacio Ortega of Team Spain as he and Jorge Salazar of Team United States waited to see if his shot would go in during a men’s wheelchair basketball group stage match.

09of 16The Armless Archer in ActionMatt Stutzman of Team United States.Alex Davidson/GettyTeam USA’s Matt Stutzman — known as the “Armless Archer” — achieved a years-long dream this Paralympics when he took gold in archery on Sunday, Sept. 1.“It was remarkable and exceptional to witness Team USA’s Matt Stutzman progress to gold at Esplanade Des Invalides,” Davidson says. “I wanted to portray his accuracy, strength, concentration and the art of archery all in a single shot.““I noticed Stutzman’s head turn very slightly towards my position as he released the arrow which was key to getting the photo I wanted. All the elements came together, and Stutzman was looking straight down my lens, something quite unusual in this sport. The arrow in flight fits the frame nicely and his expression to me says it all—lost in his own world of concentration and focus.”

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The Armless Archer in Action

Matt Stutzman of Team United States.Alex Davidson/Getty

Team USA’s Matt Stutzman — known as the “Armless Archer” — achieved a years-long dream this Paralympics when he took gold in archery on Sunday, Sept. 1.

“It was remarkable and exceptional to witness Team USA’s Matt Stutzman progress to gold at Esplanade Des Invalides,” Davidson says. “I wanted to portray his accuracy, strength, concentration and the art of archery all in a single shot.”

“I noticed Stutzman’s head turn very slightly towards my position as he released the arrow which was key to getting the photo I wanted. All the elements came together, and Stutzman was looking straight down my lens, something quite unusual in this sport. The arrow in flight fits the frame nicely and his expression to me says it all—lost in his own world of concentration and focus.”

10of 16Sister, SisterDebora Borges Carneiro and Beatriz Borges Carneiro of Team Brazil.Adam Pretty/GettyIt was sibling against sibling in the final of the women’s 100-meter breaststroke SB14 on Monday, Sept. 2 as Debora Borges Carneiro and Beatriz Borges Carneiro of Brazil swam to silver and bronze, respectively.“I love the sense of action and direction you get with the bubbles and the deep blue color but also the sense and feeling of calm that this image brings as it is just before they broke the surface to hear the roar of the crowd,” photographer Adam Pretty says.

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Sister, Sister

Debora Borges Carneiro and Beatriz Borges Carneiro of Team Brazil.Adam Pretty/Getty

Adam Pretty/Getty

It was sibling against sibling in the final of the women’s 100-meter breaststroke SB14 on Monday, Sept. 2 as Debora Borges Carneiro and Beatriz Borges Carneiro of Brazil swam to silver and bronze, respectively.

“I love the sense of action and direction you get with the bubbles and the deep blue color but also the sense and feeling of calm that this image brings as it is just before they broke the surface to hear the roar of the crowd,” photographer Adam Pretty says.

11of 16Ball HandlingTaichi Hirabayashi of Team Japan.Steph Chambers/GettyChambers nabbed this shot of Taichi Hirabayashi of Team Japan as he carried the ball against Jhon Alexander Hernandez Garcia of Team Colombia during a preliminary match.“Blind soccer is unlike anything I’ve ever photographed before,” she says. “Players listen to the rattling ball as it ricochets off boards along the sidelines and across the turf. I wanted to capture a clean image of players possessing the ball across the center logo. It took some waiting, but fortunately the play crossed in the right spot.”

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Ball Handling

Taichi Hirabayashi of Team Japan.Steph Chambers/Getty

Chambers nabbed this shot of Taichi Hirabayashi of Team Japan as he carried the ball against Jhon Alexander Hernandez Garcia of Team Colombia during a preliminary match.

“Blind soccer is unlike anything I’ve ever photographed before,” she says. “Players listen to the rattling ball as it ricochets off boards along the sidelines and across the turf. I wanted to capture a clean image of players possessing the ball across the center logo. It took some waiting, but fortunately the play crossed in the right spot.”

12of 16Sprinting to the FinishGordon Allan, Alistair Donohoe and Korey Boddington.Elsa/GettyAs Gordon Allan, Alistair Donohoe and Korey Boddington took bronze in the cycling track - open C1-5 750m team sprint final, Garrison noticed that she could get their reflection in the glass in one spot.“During the Team Sprint, the cyclists are stacked together just after the start of the race, and I knew I had one shot to get the image I wanted,” she explains. “I framed it how I thought it would look best and waited for them to come around the turn. I needed the cyclists to be stacked to make it work. I used a wide-angle lens to capture this moment.”

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Sprinting to the Finish

Gordon Allan, Alistair Donohoe and Korey Boddington.Elsa/Getty

As Gordon Allan, Alistair Donohoe and Korey Boddington took bronze in the cycling track - open C1-5 750m team sprint final, Garrison noticed that she could get their reflection in the glass in one spot.

“During the Team Sprint, the cyclists are stacked together just after the start of the race, and I knew I had one shot to get the image I wanted,” she explains. “I framed it how I thought it would look best and waited for them to come around the turn. I needed the cyclists to be stacked to make it work. I used a wide-angle lens to capture this moment.”

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Feeling Golden!

Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araujo of Team Brazil.Adam Pretty/Getty

After seeing Gabriel Geraldo dos Santos Araujo compete in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, Pretty knew the swimmer was “a star athlete with great personality.”

“So I wanted to try to capture some of his emotions and reactions after his race,” the men’s 100-meter backstroke S2 final, which Araujo won.

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Speeding Away

Jaryd Clifford of Team Australia leads during the men’s 1500m T13 final.Naomi Baker/Getty

“I wanted to show motion and speed during the men’s 1500-meter T13 final so I chose a side on angle to use slow shutter speed to capture the movement of the athletes,” Baker says. “I really love how colorful this image is too.”

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Shot Put Shout

Baker says she was on a different part of the field at Stade de France when shot putter Sawsen Ben Mbarek turned heads.

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Gold on Gold

On Sunday, Sept. 1, they were featuring French swimmer and gold medalist Emeline Pierre, who won the women’s 100-meter freestyle S10 final, and Davidson grabbed a shot of the moment she was on display just below the Eiffel Tower.

“What better way to pay tribute to a great French victory than placing it against the background of the Eiffel Tower,” he says. “Shot from the Pont de Bir-Hakeim and with some work to get the right scale to the projection, the image fitted the architecture of the bridge perfectly. The cardboard cutout of Emeline Pierre hugs the arch. She reaches out to embrace the tower. The French flag flies in exactly the right place in the background. It adds up to a joyous French, Parisian and Paralympic celebration which is what the project is all about.”

source: people.com