The Paris Paralympic Games are already in full swing and one of the competitions that is already generating expectations is the wheelchair basketballfor the women’s and men’s divisions.
The wheelchair basketball competition began on Thursday, August 29, and will end on September 8 with the presentation of the gold medals to the winning women’s team.
The U.S. men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams are competing at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, leaving the question of whether they will repeat the feat of Rio 2016 when both teams won gold for the first time since 1988.
The wheelchair basketball competition takes place at the Bercy Arena in the heart of Paris.
Competing in the women’s division this year are the United States, Spain, Great Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, China, Japan and Germany.
Competing in the men’s division are: United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Australia.
What is the wheelchair basketball competition like?
Five players per team play on the court with the same proportions as in able-bodied basketball, and the same scoring structure follows: Free throw: 1 point; field goal: 2 points; successful shot from behind the 3-point line: 3 points.
The wheelchair is considered part of the player, explains the page of Paralympic Games.
When did wheelchair basketball start?
Wheelchair basketball was one of eight sports that started the first Paralympic Games in Rome, Italy, in 1960. The United States won both men’s tournaments held at the time, according to the Paris Paralympics website.
“The United States leads the medal table with 13 gold, two silver and eight bronze medals, followed by Canada (six gold, one silver and one bronze) and Israel (four gold, four silver and four bronze),” according to the Paralympic Games.
