The ashes of the Olympic cauldron had not finished burning on August 11th. Tuileries Garden when, a few weeks later, they caught fire again, this time with the Champs Elysees as the scene and the setting of the Paralympic Games. All within the scope of inclusion, the message to send to the world.
These are the Record Games. Paris witnessed how the Paralympic athletes received the baton, in the form of a mascot and an emblem, from the hands of the Olympic athletes. For the first time, both disciplines share it. But these are the Games of records. Of the 168 delegations, many had never participated before, and of the 1,983 women, 45% of the total. An unprecedented milestone.
Paris once again shone under the light of sport, lit in each Paralympic athlete. Each with his or her life story, changed the scenario in a second. How long does it take for a butterfly to blink or flap its wings? In a second, a life can also be shaken.
Loida Zalaba and terminal cancer
The stadium of Chapel Gate He witnessed an unusual event. In the center of the enclosure, Loida Zabala He lifted as much weight as he could in the final, in front of the grateful gazes of the stands. Loida approached the weight training area in a wheelchair. He stood up and made history. His record does not allow him to fight for the podium, but he has already won.
Competing in Paris was already a triumph for her. Eleven months separated her performance in Paris from the hardest day of her life. She was diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread to her brain, liver and kidneys. She then began radiation therapy and radiosurgery, even though she already thought her life was fading away. “I don’t know if my cancer will allow me to live until Los Angeles 2028” he detailed.
Loida Zabala, during the weightlifting final of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
REUTERS.
When she was only 11 years old, she suffered the first major setback of her life. He was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, which caused severe leg problems. He never walked again. A month before London 2012 Paralympic Games Loida experienced the second dark episode of his life. He suffered abuse from his then partner who injured his arm and almost prevented him from attending the Paralympic event. His hope now is to participate in Los Angeles 2028.
