17 days after the Olympics end on August 11, the Paralympic Games will start in Paris on Wednesday and continue until next Sunday.
The Paralympic Games – first hosted in the French capital – are the most famous international sporting competition organized for people with disabilities, and are modeled on the Olympic Games (the Deaf Olympics and the Special Olympics for the mentally disabled are not part of the Paralympics.) The term Paralympic Games was first officially used at the 1988 Seoul Games, and was originally created by combining the English words parapalgic (paralyzed) and olympics. Later, the prefix was replaced by the Greek word para (similar), referring to parallel games equal to those played by able-bodied competitors. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) agreed in 2001 that, from 2012, the Paralympic Games would always be held two weeks after the Summer Olympic Games, at their respective competition venues.
The Parisian will be the 17th Paralympic Games. 4,400 athletes from around 180 countries will compete in 22 sports – athletics, table tennis, boccia, sprinting, weightlifting, rowing, shooting, canoeing, cycling, five-a-side football, tennis extravaganza, wheelchair fencing, shooting, taekwondo, badminton, triathlon, swimming and sitting volleyball. Due to the different injury categories, 549 results will be announced. Like the Olympic Games, the current Paralympic Games will go down in the history books for gender equality: women will compete a record 236 times, and the number of participants will be higher than ever before.
After the opening on Wednesday – which will take place at the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysees in front of an expected 65,000 spectators – the races will start on Thursday and end before the closing ceremony next Sunday.
We can also welcome Richard Osvat to the team representing Hungary.
Richard Osvath was born in 1985 in Szatmárniře. He started fighting when he was 9 years old and despite his young age was considered a great talent, he was a member of the youth team and won the Balkan Championship. Due to a knee injury he underwent several operations, then in 2008 he fell on his previously injured leg and since then his right leg has been stiff. He started wheelchair fencing in 2011. At first he trained alternately in Budapest and in his hometown, Szatmárniře.
Outstanding results:
- 2011 – European Wheelchair Fencing Championships 1st place in dagger
- 2012 – London Paralympic Games 3rd place
- 2013 – World Wheelchair Fencing Championships 2nd Place
- 2014 – European Wheelchair Fencing Championship 1st place in dagger and 2nd place in sabre
- 2016 – Paralympic Games, Rio de Janeiro, 2nd place Dagger, 2nd place Sword
- 2017 – World Wheelchair Fencing Championships 1st place Dagger 2nd place Sword
- 2018 – European Wheelchair Fencing Championships 3rd place Dagger 2nd place Sword
- 2019 – World Wheelchair Fencing Championships Men's Fencing Team 4th Place
- 2021 – Tokyo Paralympic Games, 2nd Place Dagger
- 2022 – European Wheelchair Fencing Championships 1st Place
- 2022 – European Wheelchair Fencing Championships, 5th place in sabre
- 2022 – European Wheelchair Fencing Championships, Sabre Team 2nd Place
- 2022 – European Wheelchair Fencing Championships, Team Dagger 7th
- 2023 Nimes – Wheelchair Fencing World Cup, Individual Sabre 3rd place in this category
- 2023 Pisa – Wheelchair Fencing World Cup, Individual sabre 2nd place in this category
- 2023 Pisa – Wheelchair Fencing World Cup, Individual Dagger 2nd place in this category
- 2023 Warsaw – Wheelchair Fencing World Cup, Individual Sabre 2nd place in this category
- 2024 Sao Paulo – Wheelchair Fencing World Cup Individual Dagger 9th place
- 2024 Sao Paulo – Wheelchair Fencing World Cup, Individual Epee 3rd place
- Paris 2024 – European Wheelchair Fencing Championships, Individual Dagger Class A, 1st place
Awards and Recognitions:
- 2017 – Disabled Athlete of the Year
- 2016 – Knight of the Hungarian Order of Merit
- 2014 – Hungarian Fair Play Award – in the Fair Play Law category
- In 2022, the athlete was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Szatmarnemińskie, more details We wrote in our article available by clicking here.
Richard Osvath will also be out in the pasture on Tuesday, September 3 and Wednesday, September 4. Let's all cheer him on!
