Top 10 Incredible Viral Moments from the Paralympics

WatchMojo

These viral Paralympic moments are guaranteed to inspire! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the moments from the 2024 Summer Paralympics that got the Internet talking.

Transcript

00:00Representing India, 17-year-old Sheetal Devi came in as the world number one.

00:08She started off with perfect precision.

00:10Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the moments

00:14from the 2024 Summer Paralympics that got the internet talking.

00:19And the pregnancy is just an added thing on top. There's another barrier

00:22that realistically goes along with my life of different barriers.

00:2510. Sarah Adam becomes the first woman to rep the U.S. in wheelchair rugby

00:40Jeez, Sarah, can you leave some accomplishments for the rest of us?

00:43Not only is the Paralympic wheelchair rugby star an Associate Professor of Occupational

00:48Science and Occupational Therapy at St. Louis University, but oh yeah,

00:52she's a groundbreaking athlete who helped shepherd the U.S. to a silver medal at Paris 2024.

01:05Adam, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis while in grad school,

01:08commented in 2024 that quote,

01:11Any time I was walking, it was really slow. I was getting really fatigued and tripping

01:15and falling a lot and hurting myself. Not that you would know it from her Paralympic performance,

01:20wherein Adam became the first woman to score for her U.S. team.

01:24It's been great. My teammates from the beginning have really embraced me.

01:27You know, I've been working hard to earn a spot on this team and make sure that I'm seen as

01:31an athlete first, but absolutely an honor to be named as the first female to compete.

01:369. Dame Sarah Story speaks out

01:39We've got some quotes to bring you as well. She said,

01:42It's a short race. This is the shortest Paralympic time trial we've ever had.

01:47And I think it's a real shame because we don't get to showcase Paris sport in the way we want to.

01:53You might be familiar with this Paralympic cyclist slash swimmer's long and storied career.

01:58Sorry, no pun intended. Story was already the most lauded British Paralympian of all time,

02:03and Paris 2024 continued her streak, winning her 18th gold medal.

02:08Here's the problem, though. Paralympics organizers made the baffling decision to

02:12cut the women's cycling course to under half of that of the corresponding men's race.

02:16After having won the gold medal, Story didn't hesitate to speak up,

02:20saying that, quote,

02:21There's plenty of time in the day for us to do two laps like the men.

02:24And having fought so hard for parity in women's cycling,

02:27to not have it in Paris cycling after what we had in Glasgow last year is a real disappointment.

02:32I hope they never do this to the women again, because it has been appalling.

02:37So Sarah Story, they're absolutely using her platform just after that race to talk

02:41about that and criticize that lack of what she says is gender parity.

02:46Number 8. Sabrina Fortune Breaks the Shotput World Record

02:49Words really can't explain how over the moon I really am.

02:53Like, it's been since last night just like a dream that's just come true, really.

03:00We'll be getting into the British onslaught of gold medals in a little bit, but for now,

03:04we just have to draw specific attention to F20 Shotput Paralympic champion Fortune.

03:09After winning bronze at Rio 2016, Fortune climbed to the top of the ranks at Paris 2024

03:15and won Great Britain their second gold medal of that day.

03:19After I got my bronze in like Rio, I was like,

03:22to get a gold, to do something like that, it'd be incredible.

03:26I was like, ah, will I get it? I don't know.

03:29And then Tokyo happened and I came sixth and I was like, I want to quit.

03:34Commenting on the jaw-dropping circumstances of her win,

03:37Fortune was quoted as saying, quote,

03:39I still cannot believe it, especially on the first throw.

03:43I was expecting about 14 meters, just a simple throw.

03:46Then I hit the world record.

03:48Indeed, Fortune set a new world record, beating her own previous record by 29 centimeters.

03:54It was so bad at that time, mental health, everything around that time was just bad.

03:59And I was like, well, am I not good enough?

04:01And I was like, you know what?

04:02If I give up now, what's the point of trying so far?

04:06Number seven, Maisie Summers-Newton goes gold, not once, but twice.

04:11You're here so I can make you better at what you do, by freeing your mind.

04:15Give me a chance.

04:16I suppose.

04:17You do know I won two gold medals at the last Paralympics, right?

04:21Uh-huh.

04:22This British S6 swimmer has a lot to write home about after Paris 2024.

04:26The winner of two gold medals at Tokyo 2020 in the 100 meter breaststroke

04:31and 200 meter individual medley, respectively,

04:34Summers-Newton defended her titles in both categories in 2024.

04:38And when we say defended her titles, we really mean it.

04:42The decorated swimmer won gold again,

04:44finishing just over five seconds ahead of American silver medalist Ellie Marks.

04:49Described as the face of British paraswimming by British newspaper The Independent,

04:54Summers-Newton spoke to the press about the difficulty of beating her overwhelming self-doubt,

04:58as well as the intense pressure that comes with a gold medal.

05:02Looks like she needn't have worried much at all.

05:04And I'm a six-time world champion.

05:07Be that enough, may she?

05:08Absolutely not.

05:09So work with me then!

05:11Number six.

05:12Australia takes gold in the 4x100 mixed medley in shocking upset.

05:17Theirs is a classic underdog story.

05:19And don't we all love having someone in that position to root for?

05:22In a moment that absolutely no one could have initially predicted,

05:26the Australian team bested the favored Dutch team in a shocking turn of events

05:30that saw them overcome a seven-second lead to win the gold medal.

05:34Australia has swimmer Alexa Leary to thank for the extraordinary victory,

05:38the result of a stunning anchor leg.

05:40Leary demonstrated that she has the makings of a Paralympic superstar

05:43by also meddling to the tune of gold in the 100-meter freestyle.

05:47Leary later reflected, saying, quote,

05:49All right, I'm gonna have to weapon myself out here.

05:52We gotta take home the gold.

05:54Number five.

05:54Team GB wins 12 medals in a single day.

05:58Paris 2024 has been a pretty good time to be a Paralympian, to say the least.

06:02For a bit of context, Paralympics GB had their best day this century

06:06during the 2024 Paralympic Summer Games,

06:09winning 12 gold medals in a single day, Sunday, September 1st.

06:13According to Sky News, this surpasses the previous daily record,

06:17which was nine at both Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016.

06:22The aforementioned Sabrina Fortune was one of those extraordinary medalists,

06:26as well as mixed team sprinters Kadena Cox, Jaco Van Gass and Jody Cundy.

06:30The streak continued with three golds in rowing,

06:33as well as four in swimming, including Summers Newton.

06:37These victories, among others, put Great Britain at second place overall,

06:41having earned 23 golds, 12 silvers and eight bronzes.

06:46Number four.

06:46The internet marvels at blind long jumpers.

06:50Online commentators who were unfamiliar with the T11 category at the Paralympics,

06:54in which visually impaired athletes compete,

06:56discovered a whole new level of excellence at Paris 2024.

07:00Chinese jumper Di Dongdong proved to be a thrilling introduction to the sport,

07:04breaking a decade-old world record previously set by American jumper Lex Gillette.

07:09Di had previously won gold at the Tokyo edition of the Games,

07:13defending his title and setting the record with a breathtaking 6.85 meters jump.

07:18Commenting on his win, Di was humble but clearly overjoyed,

07:22stating that, quote,

07:23the world record has been my target for a long time.

07:26Getting the world record here was unexpected.

07:28That makes me even more delighted.

07:31Number three.

07:32Jody Grinham takes home team gold while seven months pregnant.

07:36It was never the intention, you know, to do it as an inspiration or to show women it can be done.

07:41It was a decision my partner and I made because that was what was best for our family.

07:45To paraphrase an old sci-fi movie you may or may not have seen,

07:49never tell this para-archer the odds.

07:52Grinham, a 31-year-old Welsh woman,

07:54was born with disabilities that initially made it impossible

07:57for her to meet able-bodied archery requirements.

07:59I know what it's like to make a Games. I know what it's like to miss a Games.

08:02And I know what it's like to have a baby and lose a baby.

08:05And those are things in your life that you can't help and you can't change.

08:09So I wanted to be able to do both.

08:11Undeterred, she and her father Simon devised a system allowing her to grip the bow

08:15without it being physically attached to her body, an essential aspect of archery.

08:20To make her achievement even more remarkable,

08:22Grinham competed while seven months pregnant with her second child at the Paris 2024 Paralympics,

08:28making her the first known Paralympian to do so.

08:31And the pregnancy is just an added thing on top.

08:33There's another barrier that realistically goes along with my life of different barriers.

08:38Number two, Zakia Hudadadi becomes the first ever refugee Paralympic team medalist.

08:43She played taekwondo at her home at the age of 11 and then

08:47she went on to become an athlete for the Paralympic team in Afghanistan.

08:52This Afghan para taekwondo star is unstoppable.

08:55From Herat province, Afghanistan, Hudadadi has made history with a series of groundbreaking

09:00achievements inspired by Ruhollah Nikba, the only Afghan athlete to win an Olympic medal.

09:06Although Hudadadi represented Afghanistan at the 2020 Summer Paralympics,

09:10her participation in Paris 2024 was initially in jeopardy.

09:14As you see, it comes at that moment where Taliban have announced a law that

09:19restricts many movements of women, voices of women in the country.

09:24Fortunately, she was evacuated from Afghanistan and went on to win bronze.

09:28With this victory, Hudadadi became the first female Afghan Paralympian since 2004,

09:34the first female Afghan athlete to compete internationally since the 2021 Taliban offensive,

09:39and the first member of the refugee team to medal.

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09:59Number 1. Sheetal Devi's Yusuf Dikech moment

10:02Representing India, 17-year-old Sheetal Devi came in as the world number one.

10:08She started off with perfect precision.

10:11Just to be clear, any comparisons to Turkish sports shooter Dikech are meant to highlight

10:16Devi's remarkable precision and unflappable demeanor.

10:19Devi, an Indian para-archer born with the rare congenital condition Focomelia,

10:24which resulted in her being born without arms,

10:26defied all expectations by winning bronze at Paris 2024.

10:31Doctors had initially told her she would never compete due to the lack of suitable prosthetics

10:35for her condition, and her coaches had never trained an athlete without arms.

10:39Devi won the internet's heart with her bravery and determination,

10:42and we can't wait to see what she accomplishes next. Did we mention she's only 17?

10:48What was your favorite moment from the Paris 2024 Paralympics? Let us know in the comments below.

11:05Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,

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