Earlier this month, movie star Tom Cruise made a spectacular appearance at the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics and the Olympic flag arrived in Los Angeles. While those events marked the end of the Summer Games, another opening ceremony took place in the French capital on Wednesday night.
The highly anticipated 2024 Paralympic Games will get underway in earnest this week in Paris, following Opening Ceremony festivities on Wednesday. Competition will officially begin on August 29th.
Californian Ezra Fleck is one of thousands of athletes with physical, intellectual or visual disabilities who have traveled across the Atlantic to France for a chance to win a coveted Olympic medal.
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Ezra Fletch (Gen Yoshimura/Getty Images/File)
Fleisch is also returning to familiar territory, having competed in the high jump, long jump and sprints, winning gold at last year's world championships in France's largest city.
He told Fox News Digital he was proud to have the opportunity to return overseas and represent the country he loves so much.
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“I love America and I am grateful for all the opportunities this country has given me. I am grateful to live in the greatest country in the world, so it is with the utmost pride that I wear the red, white, blue and American flag across my chest on behalf of all those who have sacrificed for this country. I look forward to making us all proud.”
Organizers noted that 2.8 million tickets were available for this year's Paralympics, with an estimated 2 million of them purchased for the first wave of competitions. The large crowds will be an encouragement to athletes who traveled to Tokyo in 2021 and competed in venues with limited capacity due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ezra Fleck will compete in the men's long jump T63 final at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships. (Reuters/Christopher Pike)
Now, Fresh has the chance to show off her talent to all the fans who traveled to Paris and those watching the match back in the U.S. Rather than focusing on her physical disability, she stays motivated by remembering all the people who have believed in her and helped her along her journey as an athlete.
“I am supported by those who believe in me: my family, friends, team, coaches, prosthetists, chiropractors, strength coaches, everyone involved in my journey. I truly believe that my lack of commitment would be an insult to those who believe in me, so everything I do is to make them proud.”
Ezra Fleck will compete in the men's long jump T63 final at the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan on May 19. (Paul Miller/Getty Images)
The Paralympics will take place over 11 days and feature 22 sports, 20 of which have Olympic equivalents, with the exception of Goalball and Boccia.
Fleck's determination to continue competing at a high level despite adversity echoes his thoughts back in June, when he pushed back against the idea that spectators should “pity” Paralympians. In fact, Fleck said fans attending the Paralympics should expect only intense competition from the best athletes in the world.
“I hope that the average American or the average viewer realizes how elite level some of these sports are,” Fletch told Fox News Digital in June. “People get confused and sometimes feel sorry for the athletes. There's no room for pity in the Paralympics. These are the best athletes on the planet, they just happen to be physically disabled.”
“If you turn on the TV and you want to watch high-level sport, that's what you're going to watch the Paralympics. It's not a tale of woe or a pity party. These are the best athletes on the planet competing against each other. And that's what I want people to get out of the Paralympics.”
Outside the stadium, P&G, the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee have launched a joint venture, the P&G Athletes for Good Fund, in which Fleck is a partner. The group is highlighting athletes and para-athletes who are making a positive impact in their communities while excelling in their sport.
To coincide with the opening of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Fleck will also appear in a documentary titled “Rising Phoenix: A New Revolution,” produced by Harder Than You Think Productions in association with P&G Studios.
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Wednesday's opening ceremony was held in noticeably better conditions than the rain-soaked conditions when Olympians traveled by boat down the Seine to the opening ceremony, and fans still flocked to watch the show despite the soggy conditions.
Accessibility was a key element of the Paralympic Opening Ceremony. Asphalt has been laid along and around Paris' famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées to promote an accessible environment. The entire Place de la Concorde, the French city's main public square, also features accessible features.
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