The Paralympics run from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8 and feature elite competition in 22 sports. There are over 4,000 athletes from around the world competing, including five from Utah.
Paralympic snowboarder Zach Miller trains in Park City. He doesn’t compete in summer events, but still encourages everyone to watch the Summer Paralympics.
“In all the past years, there has been a pretty big drop off in terms of engagement and viewership for the Paralympics,” Miller said. “I think it's because a lot of people think, ‘Oh well, it's not really the best athletes anymore,’ but it absolutely is.”
He said many stories from the Paralympics are inspiring because Paralympians achieve superhuman accomplishments while having a physical disability.
Miller has cerebral palsy, which impacts his body’s ability to build muscle density. He is also on the U.S. Para Snowboard Team, is a two-time world champion, won the 2023 Best Athlete with a Disability ESPY award and competed in the 2022 Beijing Paralympics.
Miller said one thing that makes the Paralympics especially interesting is the unique rules for each sport. For example, there are multiple categories for track and field events for people with varying abilities. People with similar visual impairments, intellectual impairments or other disabilities will compete against each other to even the playing field.
“Obviously, no disability is the same,” he said. “The Paralympics has to create a level playing field that still promotes good, close competition, and I think they do that really well.”
One interesting and difficult sport in the Paralympics is goalball. The team sport is for athletes with visual impairments and there is no able-bodied equivalent. Two teams of three players try to throw a ball with bells inside it into their opponents’ goal. All players also wear blindfolds to even the playing field, as athletes may have varying levels of visual impairment.
All Paralympic events will be live-streamed on Peacock.
For a link to the full schedule, click here.
