There’s less than 10 days to go before paralympic athletes from 182 delegations across 5 continents gather at the Paralympic Village near Paris.
The village which hosted non-disabled athletes during the Olympics was designed with accessibility in mind to ensure ease of movement for wheelchair users, its directors explains.
”All the Paralympic village was actually already prepared. So to welcome the athletes Paralympic, before we created the Olympic Village. So all the public spaces are ready to welcome them, because it was made also for the legacy for after the Games,” Laurent Michaud says.
“We only had to make some changes in a few services regarding mobility, for example, in installing more micromobility services and device so that, they will have a better possibility to move inside the village, even if they are in a wheelchair.”
4,400 athletes will compete in 22 sports across various emblematic venues such as the Chateau de Versailles.
A repair center has also been setup within the village to serve the athletes during the 11-day event.
“One of the important features of the Paralympics is the use of wheelchair, prostheses and orthoses. So, there may be breakage or difficulties in adjusting those correctly during the games. That’s why Ottobock, one of the partners of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, has set up a repair center for prostheses, wheelchairs and orthoses. This partner will especially be available, here, at the village during the Paralympic Games. Some 2,000 repairs are carried out during the entire Paralympic Games. That’s 200 a day.”
The Paralympic Village which covers 52 hectares (equivalent to 70 soccer pitches) an offers a wide range of amenities, including a large refectory with various food stations, a vast sports hall, training fields for numerous sports, a polyclinic, prayer rooms, and an anti-doping center.
An unprecedented outdoor opening ceremony will kick off the games on August 28.
Source: Africanews
