The battle for podium places begins at the Velodrome de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, located 50 kilometres from the capital, in the town of Montigny-le-Bretonneux. This venue will host up to four finals in track cycling today, covering the time trial events (women’s 500m C4-5) and the pursuit events (men’s C1 and B, and women’s C1-3).

Great Britain is seen as the frontrunner in this sport, considering that in Tokyo, they topped the cycling medal table with 24 medals, 10 of which were gold. In today’s time trial, predictions suggest that the top spot could go to the British athlete Kadeena Cox, the reigning Paralympic and world champion, who will face a strong challenge from the Dutch competitor Caroline Groot. As for the pursuit events, China’s Li Zhangyu, the world and Paralympic champion, is the man to beat in C1, while in the B category, the current titleholders, the Dutch duo Tristan Bangma and Patrick Bos, are the favourites, although the British pair, Steve Bate and Chris Latham, aim to change the outcome.

The spotlight will shift a few hours later to Paris La Defense Arena, the venue chosen for Paralympic swimming. From 17:30 CEST, the pool will host up to 15 medal events, where some defending champions will seek to repeat their previous successes.

Among this elite group is Australian Rowan Crothers, who will aim to extend his dominance in the men’s 50m freestyle S10, as he hasn’t lost a major final in this event since the 2019 London World Championships. Another example is South Korea’s Jo Giseong, the 2023 Manchester World Champion in the men’s 50m breaststroke SB3, who is hoping for his first medal in this event after finishing sixth in the last Games.

Canadian legend Aurelie Rivard will be seeking her sixth gold medal when she takes to the pool in the women’s 50m freestyle S10 final. She is also the world record holder with the 27.37 seconds that secured her the top spot on the podium at Rio 2016. Another event with a strong favourite for gold is the women’s 100m butterfly S13, where Italy’s Carlotta Gilli has won two world titles since her gold in Tokyo 2020.

The day will continue at the Grand Palais with three taekwondo finals, a sport now in its second Paralympic edition after debuting in Tokyo. Specifically, by the end of the evening, the podiums will see the 47kg and 52kg fighters in women’s K44 and the 58kg fighters in men’s K44.

Taekwondo saw a wide variety of nations winning medals at the last Paralympics. Brazil topped the table with one gold, one silver, and one bronze, but no country managed more than a single gold. The Republic of Iran, Denmark, Mexico, Peru, and Uzbekistan each claimed one title. In total, 17 countries were represented on the podium, so there is no clear dominator.

Table tennis will be the fourth sport to award its first medals today at Arena Paris Sud, where the women’s doubles WD14 semi-finals will take place from 18:30 CEST. After securing 16 out of 31 titles in Tokyo 2020, China leads the historical medal table with a total of 75 gold medals, 30 silver medals, and 20 bronze medals. Undoubtedly, the top contender for glory.