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The Paris Olympics definitely brought new fans to the Games – and the hope is that the Paralympics will do the same. Incredible sport is guaranteed over the following 11 days, with events ranging from the physicality of wheelchair rugby to the precision of boccia. But for many (including me) what is so special about the Paralympics is the amazing human stories of resilience amid adversity, and the transformative power of sport for disabled people, epitomised by the France’s longest-serving Paralympian Ryadh Sallem. He’s been speaking to our Paris correspondent, Angelique Chrisafis, about his “rendezvous with destiny” at his home Games and how sport saved his life.
When the French wheelchair rugby team play their first match on Thursday, all eyes will be on Ryadh Sallem, whose extraordinary journey from thalidomide baby to record-breaking athlete has made him one of the country’s best-loved and longest-serving Paralympians.
Sallem, who will turn 54 at the Paris Games – his sixth Paralympics – is best known for competing in several sports. He began as a swimmer, breaking the 1991 world record for the 400m individual medley. Then he learned circus juggling techniques in order to become one of the first wheelchair basketball players without two full hands.