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7 Florida Athletes To Watch At The 2024 Paralympics

By Jen Glorioso
PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 27: The Paralympic Agitos are seen on the Arc de Triomphe ahead of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games on August 27, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Did you think we were done talking about the Olympics? Never! We hope the 2024 Paralympic games get just as much love as the 2024 Olympic games did, with or without Snoop Dogg. The Paralympics have the same events as the standard Olympics, and some events that you might have even never heard of. Wheelchair rugby, goalball, boccia, just to name a few.

Goallball is similar to handball. Teams consist of visually impaired or blind players and use a ball containing bells to score points. Boccia is a precision sport. The goal is to throw leather balls as close as possible to a white target ball or “jack”.

The 2024 Paralympics will take place in Paris. The Opening Ceremony is happening on August 28 at 2pm EST, and the Closing Ceremony is scheduled for September 8 at 8:30pm EST. Just like the regular Olympic games, you can tune into events on Peacock. NBC will have three time slots to cover highlights from the Games on Aug. 30 at 9 p.m. Eastern time, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. Eastern time, and Sept 6 at 9 p.m. USA will also air several events including Para swimming, wheelchair basketball, and more.

A lot of people believe that the Paralympics should overlap with the standard Olympics, have 1 opening and closing ceremony, making it a whole month-long celebration. This way, the Paralympics doesn’t get overshadowed or forgotten about by the time the regular Olympic games end. 2024 Olympic athletes who gained tons of attention on social media this year, like Ilona Maher, are also spreading the word to watch the Paralympics and support these amazing athletes just like we did for her!

Florida Athletes Competing in The 2024 Paralympic Games

According to Time.com, 4,400 athletes will participate in the Paralympic Games this summer. Team USA will have 225 athletes participating. Some athletes are up for some big accomplishments. Tatyana McFadden could become the most decorated U.S. Paralympic track athlete, and the men’s wheelchair basketball team are looking to defend their title and win their third gold medal.

Paralympians are grouped by type of impairment, and some sports like para swimming have competitions for every type of impairment. Other games like goalball, just have one category. The different categories are defined by a prefix and a number.

Florida has 7 athletes competing in the 2024 Paralympics. Here’s who you need to be rooting for:

  • Abbas Karimi

    Abbas Karimi is a 27 year old Paralympian swimmer from Fort Lauderdale. He was born without arms in Kabul, Afghanistan and came to America when he was 16. He also competed at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 as part of the Refugee Paralympic Team and was one of the flagbearers.

  • Emma Meyers

    Emma Meyers is the youngest member of the U.S. Paralympic Triathlon Team. She’s from Pensacola, FL and started her triathlon journey in 2017. Meyers was born with fibular hemimelia, a congenital limb deficiency that limits growth of the calf bone. Her leg was amputated below the knee when she was just a toddler. This will be her first time competing in the Paralympic games!

    SWANSEA, WALES - JULY 15: Emma Meyers of the USA celebrates as she crosses the finish line during the World Para Triathlon Series Swansea at on July 15, 2023 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

  • Nicky Nieves

    Nicky Nieves is a Kissimmee native who was born without a left hand (doctors suspect the umbilical cord might have wrapped around her hand). Her family moved from Queens to Kissimmee, Florida when she was 10 years old. She has competed in the Paralympics before, winning gold with women’s volleyball team in 2016.

  • Morgan Ray

    Morgan Ray is a 22 year old athlete from St. Augustine competing in the swimming events. He was born with achondroplasia, the most common form of short-stature or dwarfism. This will be his first time competing in the Paralympic games!

  • Jenson Van Emburgh

    Jenson Van Emburgh is a Class 3 Para athlete who has a spinal cord injury that happened at birth. The 24 year old from Belleair Beach has played numerous sports like sled hockey, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, and table tennis. He pulled off an upset victory in the 2020 Tokyo table tennis competition, brining home a bronze medal.

  • Gemma Wollenschlaeger

    Gemma Wollenschlaeger is from St. Augustine and will be competing in the rowing competition. Her official Paralympic page says she tried almost every other sport growing up, but Rowing stuck with her the most. She earned first-team All-AAC honors and was named Temple Women’s Rowing’s Athlete of the Year in 2023. This will be her first time competing in the Paralympic games!

  • Tracy Otto

    Tracy Otto is a Plant City native and went to the University of Tampa. She discovered Para archery after surviving a life-threatening domestic violence attack, which caused the loss of her left eye and paralysis from the chest-down and is now a huge advocate for survivors of domestic violence and adaptive sports. Although she has proven to be a world champion, this will be Tracy’s first time competing in the Paralympic games!

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