Tag: Paralympics

A Paralympic France-Brazil blind soccer matchup featured an awesome penalty kick

Blind soccer is AWESOME.

There are many truly phenomenal sports at the Paralympic Games in Paris, but few events might be more impressive than blind soccer.

Blind soccer — also known as blind football — has existed since 1996 and is an adaptation of soccer for athletes with vision impairment.  It was first featured during the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, and it includes some unique differences to support athletes. Per the Paralympics’ site, teams consist of four outfield players and one goalkeeper. Outfield players are completely blind (with low visual acuity and/or no light perception), and goalkeepers are typically sighted or partially sighted.

To keep things fair, all outfield players must wear eyeshades when playing and can use off-field guides for assistance. The ball used in the field of play makes a noise that assists players with positioning and orientation. Considering all those facts, a penalty kick is all that much more incredible. You have to see this awesome shot during a France-Brazil matchup on Tuesday. It was awesome.

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Paralympics wheelchair tennis rules: What you need to know for the 2024 Paris events

A look at the Paralympics tennis rules.

The 2024 Paralympics have been fantastic, from the opening ceremony to the events we’ve seen so far.

And now, there’s wheelchair tennis, which is mostly similar to the sport we saw in the Paris Olympics when it comes to the rules.

The differences? Glad you asked.

The one you’ll notice when watching a match is that the ball can bounce twice instead of just once. That’s legal and it leads to some incredible rallies.

Per UK’s Paralympics site, there’s another rule to take note of: “At the serve, the server must be in a stationary position before serving the ball, but is allowed one push of the wheelchair before striking the ball.”

That’s it! Enjoy.

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Former ‘Valorant’ pro wins gold in swimming at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics

Doesn’t matter if its Valorant or swimming, Rowan “Magnetbrain” Crothers is a legend all the same.

It’s not every day that an esports star wins Olympic gold, but Rowan “Magnetbrain” Crothers of Valorant fame did just that. On Wednesday, representing Australia, Crothers came in first during the Men’s 50m freestyle S10 Swimming at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Known to most gamers for crafty maneuvers in Valorant, Crothers took a break from esports to train for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. And, well, it certainly worked out as he finished first at a staggeringly impressive 23.21 seconds.

The champ took the time to share a photo of the medal with his head held high, which you can check out below.

“I’ve proved that I’m not just a person with a disability,” said Crothers in an interview with 7Sport. “But I’m also an elite athlete.”

Crothers has dealt with Cerebral Palsy all his life, yet it hasn’t stopped him from becoming a legend in swimming and esports.

The entire Valorant community were ecstatic for Crothers, of course.

How cool is all the support from his esports friends? To say this was an achievement would be quite the understatement.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF. 

Notre Dame athletes who have won medals at the Summer Olympics

These Notre Dame products have done well on sports’ biggest stage.

After being delayed by one year, the 2020 Olympic Games are underway in Tokyo. Notre Dame has a record 20 current and former student-athletes seeking that coveted gold medal in this competition and the Paralympics. You can keep track of all of them here. With all of those names, the chances of at least one of them winning any medal are extremely high.

Notre Dame’s Olympic history goes back to 1912. While not every Olympian to go through South Bend has won a medal, quite a few of them have done just that. A few even won medals while representing countries other than the U.S. It’s a testament to how Notre Dame leaves no stone unturned when it comes to recruiting talent for its athletic program.

As we prepare to cheer on this year’s Olympians who have donned the Irish uniform, let’s look back at those who have made it to the podium in previous summer competitions: