The Paralympics Are Getting A Higher Profile And Have More Athletes Than Ever

Enlarge this image


The flags of the participating nations are displayed in the parade of athletes during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on Tuesday.





Carmen Mandato/Getty Images



hide caption



toggle caption


Carmen Mandato/Getty Images





Peruvian Para badminton player Pedro Pablo de Vinatea trains in Lima in June 2020.





Raul Sifuentes/Getty Images



hide caption



toggle caption


Raul Sifuentes/Getty Images

Two of the 22 summer sports sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee are new to the Games: badminton and taekwondo.

Although the IPC announced that badminton would become an official sport in 2015, it is just now making its debut.

Taekwondo will be the first full-contact Paralympic sport ever.

Read more about the rules for badminton and taekwondo.


More women will compete than ever


There are 4,403 athletes taking part in the international competition, according to the organizing committee for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

That bests the previous record for athletes competing in the Paralympics (4,328 set in Rio in 2016).

Among those competing in the Tokyo Paralympic Games, 1,853 are women, another record. Previously, Rio 2016 had the most female athletes with 1,671.


LGBTQ representation is growing


At least 28 publicly out Paralympians will compete in the Summer Games in Tokyo, more than double the number that took part in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, according to Outsports.

The athletes on the list come from at least eight countries and are mostly women. The only man on the list is Lee Pearson, an equestrian from Great Britain.

There are also «at least three non-binary or neutral athletes participating in the Games, according to the site.


Medalists will be getting more money


For the first time, Paralympians who win medals in Tokyo will earn the same as Olympians in Tokyo, thanks to a 2018 decision by the U.S. Olympic Committee board.

The move gave Paralympic athletes a 400% increase for each medal win, finally putting them at parity with U.S. Olympians.

Reporting for this story originally appeared in the Morning Edition liveblog.